Gun legislation moves forward in Springfield
BY KEN GOZE
STAFF WRITER

People on both sides of the gun debate are keeping a close eye on proposals in Springfield that would exempt gun owners like Wilmette's Hale DeMar from local gun laws when they use a weapon in self-defense.

Gun rights supporters say those bills would temper local gun bans with common sense to prevent homeowners from being punished in cases of self-defense. Wilmette village officials say the measures, if passed, threaten the ability of local governments to maintain their own gun laws.

Gun ownership is allowed in Buffalo Grove and Wheeling, provided the owner has a valid firearm owners identification card.

The firing of any weapon, however, is prohibited in both villages. And while the sale and manufacture of firearms has been banned in Buffalo Grove since 1994, Wheeling does not restrict their sale.

Wheeling's ordinance specifically states residents are allowed to possess weapons in their home or fixed place of business. It does not allow residents to carry weapons in the car or on their person in public places.

However, the ordinance also has a "catch-all provision" that states state law supercedes any local ordinance involving weapons possession or use, said Patrick Lucansky, Wheeling's village attorney.

"I don't see (the bills) causing any problems (in Wheeling)," Lucansky said. "The Village Board might consider modifying its catch-all provision (if the bills are passed)."

Senate Bill 2165 and a companion bill in the House of Representatives, HB 4075, are scheduled for a third reading and final vote sometime after lawmakers return to Springfield March 23. Both bills would allow residents to use self-defense as a basis for seeking dismissal of criminal charges stemming from local gun ordinances if they used the banned weapon in an act of self-defense.

Wilmette Village Attorney Tim Frenzer testified against the Senate bill in earlier committee hearings and said Wilmette's concern is shared by Chicago and other villages.

"The problem with the bill is it's so overbroad it's pretty transparently part of the larger agenda the gun lobby has in this state to pre-empt all local ordinances and push toward concealed carry," Frenzer said. "This does not immunize somebody against local prosecution for defending themselves against an intruder in their home. It immunizes somebody for using any firearm, anytime and any place if they claim it was used in self-defense."

Confronting intruder

The Wilmette case that spawned the legislation occurred in late December when DeMar, a 54-year-old businessman, shot and wounded a man who had broken into his east-side home for the second time in 24 hours. Cook County prosecutors found the shooting justified, but DeMar still faces a fine and possible destruction of two guns under a 1989 village ordinance prohibiting handgun possession.

DeMar's attorneys last month filed a legal challenge seeking to hold the law invalid in his circumstances. Lawyers this month are filing written responses in preparation for an April 22 court date.

Frenzer said the broad wording of the bills would prevent local prosecution of anyone who successfully claims self-defense, even in cases where an innocent bystander was shot or the person owned the weapons in violation of state law.

He said it also creates a type of defense not available under state weapons laws. Under state law, people acting in self-defense in a homicide or battery are not immune from charges of keeping an outlawed weapon such as a machine-gun or sawed-off shotgun.

"There's no justification defense for possessing a contraband weapon. To create that sort of defense for a municipal ordinance violation when it would never be considered for a state law violation, that's pretty inconsistent," Frenzer said.

Local ordinance tickets carry no jail time and, in Wilmette's case, a maximum fine of $750, but a successful prosecution is key to the main goal of getting a court order to destroy the seized guns. Frenzer said that is the point of the DeMar citation, not an attempt to punish a man who defended himself.

Strict standards

The sponsor of the Senate bill, Sen. Ed Petka, R-42nd, of Plainfield, said people claiming self-defense for local ordinance violations would have to meet the same legal standards as they would under state law, which includes a reasonable belief that they were in danger. It carves out a narrow defense for self-defense situations but would not bar villages from pressing charges in other situations.

"It just deals with the very elemental concept that the No. 1 natural law is the law of self-preservation. People inherently understand what it means and what it is," said Petka. "The right to protect themselves from violent injury is linked with that, and government shouldn't be taking that opportunity away."

One major question affecting the bills' chances of passage is whether it requires a three-fifths supermajority to pass. That requirement is triggered when trying to overrule home-rule authority of towns such as Wilmette, but Petka said that issue has not been settled.

The language does not directly pre-empt local governments from having local gun bans. The bills must pass out of their respective chambers by the end of the month for further consideration.

"A lot depends on whether or not this is perceived to be pre-empting and if it needs 30 or 36 votes. I'm confident we have 30 votes. Thirty-six will be a little tougher," Petka said.

He said the bill has had some bi-partisan support, but he does not know what to expect from Gov. Rod Blagojevich if the bill reaches his desk.

Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, said the reasons local governments offer in opposition of the bills are overblown. Criminals or others with dubious self-defense claims would still find themselves facing much stiffer state charges, he said. The protections in the bill would give regular people a break from onerous local laws in situations such as DeMar faced, he said.

"They like to hang all kinds of other things on it, but the fact is that's all it really does," Pearson said.