As we enjoyed a warm, spring weekend in Champaign-Urbana, things were also heating up in the Illinois General Assembly. On Friday, the State Senate passed a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. The legislation will now go before the House for consideration. The Senate also agreed to extend voting on a number of important issues until after Easter break.

Included is final debate on important gun control legislation proposed by democratic Senate President Emil Jones and company. Taking business owners’ rights away with smoking bans, proposing six billion dollar tax increases, and lining their pockets with donations from utility companies while sticking the public with rate hikes apparently isn’t enough for Illinois Democrats. Now they must cater to Mayor Daley and their Chicago constituency and take guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.

The incorrectly named Assault Weapons Ban, sponsored by Senator Jones and co-sponsored by a handful of Chicago Democrats, is on the docket as SB16. If passed, not only would it outlaw the sale and possession of many automatic and semi-automatic weapons, it would also include many commonly used target rifles and shotguns as well. Another bill (SB102), would ban multiple sales of handguns during any 30-day period. In addition to the egregious violations these bills pose to the individual right to bear arms, these pieces of legislation don’t specifically target violent criminals.

The legislation makes no distinction between punishing criminals trafficking weapons and punishing gun dealers selling to individuals for target practice. First time offenders of the Assault Weapons Ban are guilty of a felony. Joe Outfitter is as guilty as Joe Outlaw.

Proponents of gun control legislation often paint bloody pictures of murder, cite instances of misuse by children, and push for a top-down approach to gun control. However, while these gun critics are quick to present gun fatality figures, they ignore evidence of guns as deterrents. Those “Burma Shave” style signs along Illinois interstates aren’t lying when they say that guns save lives.

Empirical evidence and statistics of guns as a deterrent of violent crimes are dismissed by anti-gun activists. In his best-seller, “More Guns, Less Crime,” John R. Lott Jr. dispels the fears that some people have about arming citizens. Using violent crime and gun ownership rates, Lott makes a strong case for concealed carry of firearms. That is, by arming citizens, crime rates decrease as the potential consequences become greater for would-be attackers. A swinging purse provides little protection from a violent rapist, but a handgun just might do the trick.

Illinois lawmakers seem to be some of the few not sold on the notion that an armed citizen is a safer citizen. Only Illinois and Wisconsin completely prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons for protection. The NRA has labeled forty states “right to carry.” Large increases in concealed carry permits have been seen in states that have recently adopted right to carry legislation. Not surprisingly, as the number of permits has increased, violent crime has gone down.

When concealed carry laws are proposed, opponents come out of the woodwork. Yet, not often do we see the same media attention after the legislation is enacted. If right to carry legislation is so awful, why don’t we see cases of road rage shootings by permit carrying citizens? Violent crime still exists and gun violence remains. However, as an unknown gun activist accurately stated, “if we outlaw guns, the only people with guns will be outlaws.”

As other states are passing concealed carry legislation, Illinois lawmakers are seeking to take guns out of the hands of Illinois citizens. The regressive nature of Illinois gun control legislation is a political ploy by Chicago Democrats to cater to the fears of their urban constituency and suburban soccer moms.

I hope that downstate Democrats and other members of the General Assembly will see the problems with the proposed legislation, but by the way the Senate has voted on other important issues, I have little faith.