Springfield, IL — As of May 1st, Illinois residents will be required to wear a mask when out in public by decree of their Govenor, J.B.Pritzker.
Pritzker declared as much in an executive order last week. But that sort of petty tyranny isn’t the only problem.
There’s an issue of Illinois law that Pritzker didn’t address and that affects every single gun owner and especially concealed carry permits.
Pritzker’s order said:
“Wearing a face covering in public places or when working. Any individual who is over age two and able to medically tolerate a face-covering (a mask or cloth face- covering) shall be required to cover their nose and mouth with a face-covering when in a public place and unable to maintain a six-foot social distance. Face-coverings are required in public indoor spaces such as stores.” [Emphasis added.]
Okay, sounds like crazy Covid talk to us. For weeks while we were waiting for the peak, all of us were allowed to go out to get groceries in the same store without a mask.
But now that the threat of overwhelming our medical system is diminished, NOW we should all wear them all the time? Sounds like getting on birth control right after you’re pregnant, but then, we’re not doctors. We’re gun guys.
They Missed This Bit Here…
And that’s why this mask order caught our attention. Check out this section of Illinois law:
Sec. 24-1. Unlawful use of weapons.
(a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons when he knowingly:
(9) Carries or possesses in a vehicle or on or about his or her person any pistol, revolver, stun gun or taser or firearm or ballistic knife, when he or she is hooded, robed or masked in such manner as to conceal his or her identity; [Emphasis added]
This means that if a gun owner even transports a firearm in their car while wearing a mask, they will be committing a felony–not to mention gun owners who carry concealed.
Further, the state of Illinois considers a violation of this code to be a Class 4 felony. And getting a felony automatically makes a gun owner ineligible from owning a gun. They’ll get kicked out of a background check just about every time.
Now, we agree that the main goal of wearing a mask isn’t to conceal their identity but to comply with the tinpot governor’s decree. Surely no cop would pretend otherwise.
But gun owners have learned the hard way that relying on ‘common sense’ or “any cop would know why I was doing it’ aren’t legal protection.
Common sense is rare. Cops often don’t care why you were breaking the law–just that you broke it. And in Illinois, of all places, we sure wouldn’t risk our gun rights for life on the hope that we get one of the reasonable cops.
They Didn’t Even Think About Gun Owners…Or Did They?
At first glance, it’s easy to pass this off as stupidity. So much for the brain trusts who got elected to run the show, huh?
But then, given Illinois’ reputation for being as anti-gun as they can get away with, we’d be surprised if the Governor and his advisors truly didn’t even think about this bit of law.
No, this ridiculous law might just kill two birds with one stone: they get to exert their tyrannical rule over the entire population….but then they also get to slap gun owners around.
See, gun owners would likely rather choose not to carry than risk their gun rights for life. And if they don’t choose to disarm themselves, the State of Illinois can clap them with a felony!
And it’s not only those who are carrying that fall into this category! This is anybody who keeps a gun in their business place. It would even apply to anybody who carries on their own property!
This law is either incredibly stupid or else it’s a malicious attempt to disarm gun owners. After all, gun owners only have two choices: disarm themselves to make sure they’re not gambling with their rights or risk a felony charge.
The government is either incompetent or evil. In either case, the crooks in charge need to be replaced.