Clear difference on gun issue

Blagojevich, Topinka don’t mince words when it comes to gun control

By John Patterson
Daily Herald State Government Editor
Posted Sunday, October 08, 2006

Editor’s note: This is the sixth in a weekly series of stories on where the candidates for governor stand on the issues.

SPRINGFIELD – In a campaign of often bitter contrasts, gun issues provide some of the clearest distinctions between the two leading candidates for Illinois governor.

Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich built a reputation in Congress as a gun-control advocate, a standing that’s followed him to the governor’s office where his actions have won him the applause of leading gun-control groups.

On the other side of the ledger, Republican nominee Judy Baar Topinka has been equally outspoken in her opposition to many of Blagojevich’s gun control ideas, generally arguing there are enough gun laws already on the books. Such views won her the endorsement of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

Ironically, there is one thing the two have in common when it comes to guns. Neither owns one nor has ever been hunting, though both said they’d fired guns in the past.

Also on the ballot is Green Party nominee Rich Whitney, a Carbondale lawyer. He opposes an Illinois ban on assault weapons, supports letting people with proper training carry weapons and believes a statewide gun transportation standard is better than a patchwork of local laws.
Whitney also doesn’t own a gun and said he’s never fired one, but is thinking of taking up hunting.

Rolling pin politics

A state ban on so-called assault weapons has become a defining difference between the Topinka and Blagojevich campaigns.

Blagojevich wants one; Topinka doesn’t.

At issue is a federal ban enacted in 1994 by President Clinton that expired in 2004 and was not renewed by the Republican-controlled Congress.

The proposed Illinois ban would outlaw making, selling or possessing guns classified as assault weapons. The original definition included the Uzi, AR-70 and similar models and replicas along with guns bearing certain military characteristics.

Despite strong backing from Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, the legislation was narrowly voted down in 2005. Blagojevich continues to push for it.

“Banning assault weapons is one of my key priorities in the upcoming legislative session,” Blagojevich said in responding to a Daily Herald questionnaire.

Topinka has opposed such a statewide ban, saying the way proposed laws have been written, guns commonly used by outdoorsmen would be outlawed.

“I believe the bigger issue is enforcement,” she said. “Illinois and the federal government have hundreds of gun laws and they are not being properly enforced. We need to go after criminals who are using weapons to commit crimes or harm other people.”

However, it is her previous explanation from a Republican debate this past spring that took on a life of its own in this campaign.

“It’s very difficult to define what is an assault weapon. I mean a rolling pin could be an assault weapon if you really want to look at it that way,” Topinka said in the GOP primary.

Blagojevich’s campaign took those comments and the rolling pin imagery and put them to use in political ads criticizing Topinka’s stance.

Topinka returned fire at a downstate appearance.

“We will take him out with my little rolling pin known as the assault weapon. I will prove to him, indeed, it is an assault weapon,” she said.

Those comments led to news conferences in Chicago where victims of gun violence and gun control advocates called on Topinka to apologize. She didn’t.

Other differences

Blagojevich supports letting each community in the state have its own laws on transporting guns. He vetoed legislation last year that would have created a state law that trumped all local laws. Efforts to override his veto came up short.

“Many communities across the state are taking extra steps to protect their residents from gun violence. I vetoed this legislation because it undermines those efforts to keep their residents safe,” Blagojevich said.

Topinka, on the other hand, said there’s “logic” in having one statewide law regarding gun transportation.

The two also differ on whether the state should limit how many handguns someone can purchase in a month.

Blagojevich endorses such limits, Topinka does not. “I have not seen evidence that limiting how many handguns someone purchases in a month contributes to gun-violence reduction or deterrence of crime,” she said. “The state should focus on criminals who are obtaining weapons illegally, transporting weapons illegally and using weapons illegally. I prefer to go after criminals and criminal behavior rather than pass measures that restrict law-abiding citizens without reducing crime or making people safer.”

Agreement

Both Blagojevich and Topinka said they oppose letting Illinois residents carry concealed weapons. Asked if requiring training or state licensure in order to carry a concealed weapon would change their positions, they remained opposed.

And both also support state laws that required gun dealers to include safety locks when firearms are sold. Blagojevich signed that law and Topinka applauded lawmakers for passing it.