by Damon Williams
GSL Member
(GSL) – I know I’m preaching to the choir, but the idiocy of the Protect Illinois Communities Act still angers me. In a world where guns like America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15, protect families and children, PICA has encumbered our right to protect our families.
It is now obvious that the radicals running Springfield don’t support your right to defend your family with guns. They hate the fact that gun owners continue to boldly defy their authoritarianism. Not only that, but they aren’t too keen on groups like Guns Save Life that remind people and politicians alike of the fact that something like 98.44% of FOID holders declined to register their regulated guns.
So, these gun-hating radicals continue their animus-driven jihad against the little people who own guns. They introduce and pass bills to harass current gun owners and discourage new ones. Of course, you can bet a dozen donuts that the loudest voices for gun control measures all have guns to protect their families. Ditto for the media personalities that decry gun ownership for good people. The Hollywood types might not have their own guns but that’s because they can afford armed bodyguards to protect them.
The January 2023 enactment of the Protect Illinois Communities Act was a draconian shock to firearms owners. Lord Pritzker took beaming pride in signing the law to stop the sale of “Weapons of War on our streets.”
But did he and his fellow troglodytes in the General Assembly keep these guns off the streets? Hardly. Discounting how gang members and violent felons (but I repeat myself) have completely disregarded laws in general and gun control in particular, let’s look at it analytically. Spoiler alert: The market has adapted to laws like PICA and similar edicts in other states.
The AR-15: Typically .223 caliber with detachable magazine and semi-auto action.
A non-PICA-regulated alternative? The Mini-14. Same cartridge, detachable mags and semi-auto action.
The AK-47 variant: Commonly chambered in 7.62X39. Detachable magazine. Semiauto action.
Non-regulated PICA legal alternatives? Chinese or Soviet SKS: Same cartridge & caliber, accepts detachable magazines or stripper clips, semiauto action.
We could go down the list for more ad nauseam. Here’s another one: The Springfield M1A is regulated under PICA. Order it with a muzzle brake instead of a flash suppressor and it’s unregulated and ISP-approved. Same everything… just a muzzle brake instead of a flash suppressor. Sure, you can’t buy standard capacity mags in Illinois, but if you travel out of state, keep your trunk locked because those little suckers can sometimes hitch a ride home with you.
Gun bans are feel-good political theater. Otherwise known as idiocy.
I know one gent who changed his go-to rifle for bad guy group therapy from the AR to the M1A with a muzzle brake. So he’s using a far more potent, bigger-caliber round as the end result of adapting to conform with PICA. This way he can now shoot through the first guy and have that same bullet take down the second and maybe even a third baddie if they stack up nicely as they attack him or his family. Ain’t PICA great?
As for the ban on firearms chambered in .50 BMG? No problem. Buy the .416 Barrett: A necked-down and shortened derivative of the .50 BMG with an effective range and ballistics superior to that of the .50 BMG. To Pritzker and his pals: Good job, morons.
Sure, PICA has removed features that make gun control advocates piddle themselves in the day (and wet their beds at night), the law has no significant effect on the actual function of a firearm other than to make them slightly less user friendly for the less-abled among us.
Banning these identified features like pistol grips, flash suppressors and collapsible stocks on a firearms doesn’t have any positive effect on crime either. Other than to disarm those who aren’t inclined to commit crimes in the first place. Which means criminals feel more brazen to do criminal things.
Unfortunately for the do-gooders running Springfield, most people aren’t stupid. They see the violent crime everywhere. Savvy Americans know that the only thing that stops bad people with evil in their hearts is a good person with a gun.
Passing laws like the “No Cash Bail” Act and other soft-on-crime “criminal justice reform” laws don’t make prudent people feel safe and secure. Defunding the police doesn’t make normal people feel warm and fuzzy. Neither does early release of really bad people from prison. These things make ordinary, prudent people feel like they need to tool up to defend themselves and their families since the state’s not inclined to do so.
Rep. Bob Morgan celebrates Pritzker signing PICA with some Moms Demand Action harpies.
That’s where gun-hating Illinois Democrats shoot themselves in the foot. If the people running our state got tough on crime and criminals, non-gun owners wouldn’t feel the need to go out and buy guns. Casual gun owners who bought a gun at some point for self-defense wouldn’t feel a need to keep their guns around. And in the end, fewer guns sold would mean fewer gun stores, fewer ranges, and fewer opportunities to pass down the fun and excitement of shooting sports to young people.
Sometimes it’s good to be thankful for slow-witted elected officials.