McHenry County Right to Carry Group Targets County Board Gun Ordinance

Mickey Schuch, President of the McHenry County Right To Carry Association sends the following message:

McHenry County Right to Carry logoYou may have already caught wind of the proposed firearm discharge ordinance in play with our county board.h

Mickey Schuck

Mickey Schuch

It will limit your ability to shoot on your own land.

The premise is stated to be safety, but to the best of my knowledge we don’t have any issues with negligent rounds being fired in McHenry County.

Most of us are extremely conscientious and cautious when shooting and for good reason. I personally find it offensive that this is the type of work coming from some county board members.

There are some folks in the area that are attempting to spin our disapproval with statements such as,

“These 2nd amendment people care more about guns than public safety”

or

“So you want to be able to shoot at neighborhoods?”

Clearly those type of statements are crafted to entrap and make us look foolish.

I’ll have none of it.

This ordinance does nothing, but add yet more paper to the volumes of laws already on the books.

Our 2nd Amendment ally on the board, Nick Provenzano, and I have discussed this matter.

We would like to see you all at the board meetings. At the bottom is the info for dates and times.

On another order of business we are adding some board members our leadership team.

We have goals to really get this organization pumped up. They will be introduced at our next meeting.

Also, our friend and past guest speaker, Matthew McNamara will be coming out to teach a “combatives” class for us.

This is going to be a dynamic and hands on event. More information will follow. If you have an interest in this, shoot us an email.

I hope to see you at the county board meetings.

Let’s make sure we politely let our board members understand our feeling on this type of legislation.

  • May 15th Planning & Development Committee Meeting at 8:30am.
  • Board Meetings May 6th at 9am and May 20th at 7pm.

All meetings allow public comment and all meetings are held at the County Administration Building 667 Ware Rd. (2nd Floor), Woodstock.


Comments

McHenry County Right to Carry Group Targets County Board Gun Ordinance — 10 Comments

  1. Is it that the proposed ordinance is too restrictive?

    What is a restriction that MCR2CA would support?

    5 houses within 300 yards?

    3 houses within 100 yards?

    Is there any restriction MCR2CA would support?

    Or is it MCR2CA’s position that gun owners should be able to discharge firearms in populated areas, no matter how populated or urban?

    Does MCR2CA honestly believe that we have an unlimited right to “shoot on your own land,” even when there is a reasonable likelihood (or risk) that your bullets will travel outside of “your” land?

    Absent the risk of stray bullets flying through residential neighborhoods, is it MCR2CA’s position that the noise from gunfire is not a nuisance and that homeowners should have to put up with the sounds of gunfire in their own homes?

    Or is your objection that the law is unnecessary because “we don’t have any issues with negligent rounds being fired in McHenry County.”

    If so, are you taking the position that governments should wait until there is a negligent weapon discharge (potentially killing someone) before enacting the ordinance?

    Why?

    Even though we are in agreement that “Most of [local gun owners] are extremely conscientious and cautious when shooting and for good reason,” would you agree that you don’t need laws for the people who tend to be good citizens, and the purpose of this ordinance is to prohibit morons from doing stupid things?

    Please write back because your answers to these questions will let us know whether we should take you seriously.

  2. Many legal activities may pose threats to public safety.

    For example, there are pesticides widely used on strawberry/blueberry farms which are reported to have carcinogenic, neurotoxic, and endocrine disruptive effects.

    Legal use of these pesticides might result in grave injury to large numbers of citizens.

    When the Board begins choosing which legal activities to make (effectively) illegal, it may argue that economic benefits of certain potentially hazardous activities outweigh potential hazards to fellow citizens.

    Of course, citizens may want to understand why one and not another legal activity is targeted for banning.

    Is it because a Board Member owns a berry farm, or is it entirely random?

    If not entirely random, citizens need to assess whether their individual welfare is in any way important in the decision-making process of the Board.

    Any citizen who does not feel he enjoys the status of ‘protected insider’ may relate to the feeling of needing to keep up one’s self-defense skills by legal target practice on one’s personal property.

  3. What is being proposed is a ‘one size fits all’ solution to a problem which is at best de minimus.

    While it may seem quite sensible to prohibit target shooting in a rural subdivision where say 20 or so homes sit on 35 more or less acres divided into .8 – 1.5 acre lots all in unincorporated McHenry County, it makes no sense whatsoever to apply the same restrictions to three farms simply because the farmhouses lie near a common road junction or one of the farmers sons has built nearby to allow him to walk to work.

    With as many different kinds of rural properties and their attendant different zoning classifications here in McHenry County, a ‘one size’ approach will simply not work other than to inflame the citizens.

  4. “This ordinance does nothing, but add yet more paper to the volumes of laws already on the books.”

    Enough said.

  5. markmcguire: (off topic, I am curious why your assumed name would be that of a baseball player who admitted to breaking the rules of baseball and used steroids for over ten years?)

    As to the present topic, the following rules always apply:

    1. You cannot legislate morality or ethical behavior.
    2. You cannot legislate to alter the behavior of a criminal.
    3. You cannot legislate against people doing stupid things.

  6. The worst part is that this is all in response to one problem homeowner.
    Please don’t legislate this way.

  7. Jon, baseball was much funner when steroid-abusing freaks stepped up to the plate.

    The current era of great pitching is technically impressive but dead boring.

    The people want to see dingers.

    That said,

    As to the present topic, the following rules always apply:

    1. You cannot legislate morality or ethical behavior.
    2. You cannot legislate to alter the behavior of a criminal.
    3. You cannot legislate against people doing stupid things.

    All of this is true, but if you take this position to its logical extreme, all laws are superfluous because idiots and bad people will break the laws anyways, right?

    The reality is that laws do have a deterrent effect on bad behavior.

    Moreover, laws enable us to punish (and separate from society) people who refuse to follow them.

    The incorrigible, repeat offenders of this ordinance will eventually be incapacitated (either by removal of them from the property, or jail, or something).

    But you cannot incapacitate a repeat offender if there is no law on the books in the first place for them to break.

  8. Re: “idiots and bad people will break the laws anyways,” Your statement sure applies to the current administration in D.C.

    This is particularly true when it comes to border security and other laws relative to immigration.

    Currently enforcement of laws is done on a selective basis by all levels of government.

    Don’t forget the former Board Chairman has an interest in the indoor shooting range in Crystal Lake.

    Could there be a connection?

    Outlaw all outdoor shooting in the County to drive people to indoor ranges for practice?

  9. In response to Connecting Dots: I had forgotten the financial interest in the indoor shooting range in Crystal Lake.

    You may have discovered yet another reason for the County’s Board action, which does not surprise me at all.

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