The handout program, the latest in a series of attempts by Birch to poke holes
in Chicago and Illinois gun laws, began in April with a posting on Concealed
Carry's Web site inviting residents of the nation's third-largest city to write
an essay explaining why they need handguns to protect themselves.
They had to be 21 or older, able to pass a federal background check and had to
possess an Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Card--a requirement for all
state gun owners and yet another law that irks gun rights groups.
Extra points were given to women, the disabled and applicants deemed by the
group likely to face a physical threat, being it working the night shift at a
convenience store, having a restraining order against a former spouse or wearing
Hasidic clothing.
Birch, a 48-year-old retired Army reservist, lives in the suburb of Oak Brook,
where possessing a registered handgun is legal, but carrying it concealed
beneath a jacket or in a pocket is not. He spends much of his time trying to
overturn the state's law against concealed-carry--Illinois being one of just six
states to have such a law--as well as Chicago's ordinance forbidding handgun
possession.
Since founding Concealed Carry in 1998, Birch has done much to keep both topics
on the political table.
"I can't say I'm surprised that Mr. Birch has come up with another stunt to draw
attention to himself and this issue," said Thomas Mannard, executive director of
the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. "Basically, what Mr. Birch is
doing here is hoping that one of these individuals brings the gun into Chicago,
gets arrested and brings the city's gun ban to court. If he wants that, why
doesn't he do it himself?"
While in no hurry to get arrested, the soon-to-be owner of the new Kel-Tec says
he's thrilled to be joining Birch in his efforts, since he shares Birch's views.
"I don't feel like I'm being used at all," the man said. "I feel like maybe I'm
using him. I get a free gun. And I definitely feel like a target."
The winner and Birch agree, however, that they are itching to see Chicago's
ordinance tested in court. Another of Concealed Carry's 1,200 members filed suit
last month, asking that some Illinois and Chicago gun laws be overturned on the
grounds that they are unconstitutional and conflict with each other.
Christopher Morley, who is disabled and walks with a cane, says he decided to
sue after being mugged for the fourth time in the last few years.
Birch, whose sensational methods do not always earn him the support of other
state gun-rights groups, made his public debut in 1999, during a growing debate
in the Illinois Legislature over the concealed-carry law.
Realizing lawmakers were not likely to reduce the charge for carrying a
concealed weapon from a felony to a misdemeanor, he proposed that they at least
exempt from prosecution anyone who completed a 40-hour firearm training course
and passed a criminal background check.
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