Locked & loaded
"Our state representative (State Rep. Dan) Reitz is a Democrat," Giffhorn said. "Our congressman, (U.S. Rep.) Jerry Costello, is a Democrat. They both have a good record on gun rights. I think it's more of a rural vs. urban issue."
Giffhorn, a 1994 Valmeyer High School graduate and attorney, presented the Monroe County Board with a model resolution July 2 that purports to affirm the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and denounces current state gun-control proposals.The board tabled action on the resolution until Monday.
Giffhorn, a member of Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the National Rifle Association, said he has tracked gun ownership issues in publications and on the Internet for several years.
Weeks ago, Giffhorn was among a number of local residents to receive an e-mail from Monroe County Republican Central Committee Chairman Myron Neff regarding an effort to join a grassroots county-by-county movement to oppose current gun-control measures favored by Gov. Rod Blagojevich and some Democratic leaders.
"He basically said we need to bring this out in Monroe County as has been done in other counties, so I asked what could I do to help," Giffhorn said.
Monroe County Sheriff Dan Kelley, a Democrat, did not say he supported or opposed the resolution, but clearly stated he does not favor new gun restrictions.
"A gun sitting by itself has never killed anybody," Kelley said. "It doesn't matter the size of the gun, it doesn't matter the type of gun. It's the idiot who picks it up and uses it illegally that causes problems.
"This stuff is coming out of Chicago and Cook County where they have gangbangers who don't obey any gun laws that are on the books now anyway-and the books are full of them. If Cook County wants these laws, let them pass them for Cook County and let the rest of the state alone."
Neff said last week said he has "taken some criticism" from local Republicans after he wrote a letter to local newspapers some apparently felt was critical of the party.
Neff's letter, published in mid-May, primarily blasted Illinois Democratic brass, but said since the November election even Republicans had "fallen under the spell of the Democrat Party" and concluded saying "maybe it's time our county board steps up and protects our constitutional rights."
"If you're not adhering to what I believe most Republicans support, I'll state that," Neff said.
Neff said felons should be restricted from gun ownership, "but one of our constitutional rights is to keep and bear arms."
"It's absolutely not a Democrat/Republican issue," he said. "It's a constitutional issue."
Neff acknowledged the resolution the county board discussed "is only symbolic."
"But it's important to send a message," he said.
Neff likened the resolution to one he convinced the county board to support four years ago that called on the legislature to back laws to restrict venue changes in malpractice litigation, which proponents said would stem the explosion of "frivolous lawsuits" in the counties of Madison and St. Clair.
"A local resolution may not be worth the paper it's written on," Neff said. "But you have to make your voice heard."
Mark Baum, a Valmeyer-area Republican committeeman, said, "With the raft of gun-control measures currently being pushed in Springfield and the incredible volume of gun-controls already in effect, Monroe County must draw a proverbial line in the sand and make a stand against these wanton and sustained attacks on the integrity of our Constitution.
"I believe it is imperative the county commissioners act to reflect their constituents' values and adopt this resolution to broadcast a message to Springfield and Chicago that (we) support gunowners, sportsmen and seek to uphold the freedoms granted by the Constitution."
Alan Pirtle, chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Central Committee, did not return a call asking for comment on the resolution.
