Illinois Concealed Carry and the Right to Self-Defense: NRA Files Suit on Behalf of Beating Victim
The viciousness of the crime rocked my small community to its core. It was a heinous, random attack that "couldn't happen here." But it did.
One quiet afternoon in September of 2009, a man named Willis Bates entered the First Baptist Church in Anna, Ill., repeatedly beat and kicked two elderly church members - the church's treasurer and a woman who was cleaning classrooms - and left with a few hundred dollars and with the women clinging to life. One woman was beaten so severely that the pastor of the church didn't recognize her at first when he discovered the women shortly after the attacks.
In the days afterward, law enforcement worked tirelessly to hunt down the monster who could do such a thing. No one felt safe while he was loose. When he was caught several days later, my hometown could rest a little easier, but it was forever changed.
At the time, as the editor of one of the small weekly newspapers in the county, I was one of the many reporters covering the story. So my reaction was a little different from what it would have been when I read the news on Friday, May 13, from the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action about the NRA's lawsuit on behalf of one of the victims, church treasurer Mary Shepard, and her right to defend herself.
Illinois is one of only two states in the nation that bans the concealed carry of a firearm. Last week an attempt to rectify that in the state's General Assembly failed after Gov. Pat Quinn threatened to veto it and some House members subsequently changed their vote because of pressure put on them from anti-gun politicians in Chicago.
The NRA filed suit, Shepard v. Madigan, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois that "challenges the constitutionality of Illinois' complete and total ban on carrying firearms for self-defense outside the home." The Illinois State Rifle Association has also joined in the lawsuit.
Although I have long covered the legislative battle for concealed carry, my first thought upon reading the press release about Shepard v. Madison wasn't that it was an interesting maneuver from pro-gun groups on behalf of an individual's right to protect oneself. It was of those tense, sad, outraged days in the fall of 2009. And I thought of Mary and the other victim and their friends and family - and I thought: You go, girl!
Sources: National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action
Original reports from The Dongola Tri-County Record
One quiet afternoon in September of 2009, a man named Willis Bates entered the First Baptist Church in Anna, Ill., repeatedly beat and kicked two elderly church members - the church's treasurer and a woman who was cleaning classrooms - and left with a few hundred dollars and with the women clinging to life. One woman was beaten so severely that the pastor of the church didn't recognize her at first when he discovered the women shortly after the attacks.
In the days afterward, law enforcement worked tirelessly to hunt down the monster who could do such a thing. No one felt safe while he was loose. When he was caught several days later, my hometown could rest a little easier, but it was forever changed.
At the time, as the editor of one of the small weekly newspapers in the county, I was one of the many reporters covering the story. So my reaction was a little different from what it would have been when I read the news on Friday, May 13, from the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action about the NRA's lawsuit on behalf of one of the victims, church treasurer Mary Shepard, and her right to defend herself.
Illinois is one of only two states in the nation that bans the concealed carry of a firearm. Last week an attempt to rectify that in the state's General Assembly failed after Gov. Pat Quinn threatened to veto it and some House members subsequently changed their vote because of pressure put on them from anti-gun politicians in Chicago.
The NRA filed suit, Shepard v. Madigan, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois that "challenges the constitutionality of Illinois' complete and total ban on carrying firearms for self-defense outside the home." The Illinois State Rifle Association has also joined in the lawsuit.
Although I have long covered the legislative battle for concealed carry, my first thought upon reading the press release about Shepard v. Madison wasn't that it was an interesting maneuver from pro-gun groups on behalf of an individual's right to protect oneself. It was of those tense, sad, outraged days in the fall of 2009. And I thought of Mary and the other victim and their friends and family - and I thought: You go, girl!
Sources: National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action
Original reports from The Dongola Tri-County Record
Published by Jayn Bigler
Jayn Bigler has over 15 years of combined experience reporting for, editing and publishing weekly newspapers and specialty publications. She was the founding editor and publisher of a regional newspaper cove... View profile
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