ISRA: State Rep. Karen May's Gun Hoopla Is Just Red Herring
To: State Desk
Contact: Richard Pearson of the Illinois State Rifle Association,
815-635-3198; Web site: http://www.isra.org/

CHICAGO, Jan. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released
today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

When running a re-election horse race, politicians rarely let
the facts trip them up. Illinois Rep. Karen May, (D-Highland Park)
held true to her bloodlines today when proposing legislation to
restrict the sale of so-called ".50 caliber sniper rifles."

May comes right out of the starting gate by claiming that
purchasers of .50 caliber rifles are not subject to background
checks. Horsefeathers! Illinois law requires that purchasers of any
type of firearm hold a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card
(FOID). FOID cards, which are issued by the Illinois State Police,
are only granted after a thorough background check is completed.
Furthermore, firearm sellers are required to maintain complete
sales records for a period of 10 years.

Heading down the backstretch, May hugs the rail, telling the
public that an 18-year-old needs only to produce a valid FOID card
to purchase a .50 caliber rifle. What she neglects to mention is
that Junior will have to hustle a lot of burgers and fries to come
up with the $5000 or so that it takes to acquire your typical .50
caliber rifle. Oh, and he'd better get cracking on doing those
push-ups, too -- because most spindly-armed adolescents aren't up
to the task of lugging around a 40 pound, 3-foot long rifle.

At the quarter pole, May tells scary stories about how easily
Osama bin Laden acquired American-made .50 caliber rifles. What she
avoids mentioning is that the rifles in question were supplied to
anti-Soviet Afghan freedom fighters nearly two decades ago by the
U.S. government. But with the finish line in sight, why would May
let such a small detail break her stride?

In the homestretch, May cracks the whip and pours on the coal --
warning us all of the dangers of kits designed to convert AK-47
rifles to so-called ".50 caliber sniper rifles." Although the ISRA
is not aware of any such conversion kits, anything is possible.
But one would have to wonder why anyone would accessorize a $300
AK-47 with several thousand dollars worth of conversion parts --
assuming such was even possible given the AK-47's design features.

Ultimately, May will find the truth waiting for her in the
clubhouse turn. The truth is that all the hoopla about .50 caliber
rifles shooting down aircraft or picking off Cubs fans from the
roof of the Sears Tower is nothing but urban legend. The truth is
that .50 caliber rifles do not factor at all into Illinois' violent
crime picture. The truth is that most of the gun violence in this
state is committed by repeat offenders who were not adequately
rehabilitated by the criminal justice system.

The race for the 58th district seat would be much easier to
handicap if May would only tell the truth about .50 caliber rifles.
The ISRA urges Rep. May and her friends at the Illinois Council
Against Handgun Violence (ICHV) to cut to the chase and admit the
true purpose of their proposed .50 caliber rifle ban. We're asking
May and ICHV Executive Director Thomas Mannard to show some courage
of conviction and state plainly that their proposal is designed to
be the first step toward the eventual banning and confiscation of
all privately held firearms.

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The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful, and
responsible firearms ownership. For nearly a century, the ISRA has
represented the interests of over 1.5 million law-abiding Illinois
firearm owners.