THE ILLINOIZE: Gun rights advocates say assault weapon ban is "absolutely unconstitutional"...Why Barickman is really leaving the Senate
December 6, 2022
Good morning, Illinois.
The woman who lives in my house and is related to me by marriage (if you get the reference, littles for life) traveled down to Springfield yesterday via Amtrak and shared a photo of Chicago’s Union Station decked out for the holidays.
Nice old place.
We’ll have our weekly Livestream and Podcast tomorrow at noon. We’re scheduled to be joined by new House Republican Leader Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna). You can watch on our YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter pages. The podcast will be posted later on Apple, Google, Spotify, or Amazon.
And, if you’re still on the fence about becoming a paid subscriber, we’re happy to give you a 7-day free trial. If you don’t like it, just let me know and we can cancel no questions asked. My fragile ego will even be able to handle it.
Let’s get to it.
GUN ADVOCATES SAY ASSAULT WEAPON BAN IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Top gun rights advocates say they fully expect a Democratic controlled General Assembly to pass a ban on assault rifles and a limit on magazine capacity during a legislative ‘lame duck’ session early next month, but they say the issue will be decided in court.
Richard Pearson, Executive Director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, says the bill, proposed in the wake of a mass shooting that killed 7 and injured 48 during the Independence Day Parade in Highland Park is a broad bill attacking gun owners who have not broken any laws.
“It’s a gun owners nightmare,” he said. “It’s a concoction of every wish the gun control people want.”
Todd Vandermyde, a retired former NRA lobbyist who still actively works on gun issues says he believes a federal court will rule the ban, at least as written, as unconstitutional.
“I don’t believe they have a leg to stand on,” he said. “It’s absolutely [unconstitutional.]”
Vandermyde says he believes the proposal is too broad and puts too many limits on gun owners who obey laws that are already on the books.
“They have drawn an overly broad bill to capture as [many guns] as they can,” he said. “They’re trying to scoop up as much as they can because they always foresee trying to close what they call ‘loopholes’ and every time they do that, they keep casting a broader and broader net.”
While both Pearson and Vandermyde appear sympathetic to the actions that caused such death and destruction in Highland Park, they both say if current laws were enforced, the defendant in the case [who we have chosen not to identify by name] would not have had a FOID card and would not have been able to purchase the AR-15 style weapon he used in the massacre.
“They keep focusing on the instrument and not the individual,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how many times [gun owners] prove we’re good guys. It doesn’t matter how much red tape we go through, how many hurdles we jump, no. They don’t like guns and they’re going to use emotional drive and their projectionism to sit there and get what they want. Fortunately, we have a Constitution and a Supreme Court that says they can’t do that.”
Pearson says current laws should be enforced, specifically citing Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for failing to prosecute gun crimes in Chicago.
“Police have to start doing their jobs,” he said. “If they get a report about a clear and present danger, the red flag law, they need to go out and investigate. And when you catch these people, you have to do something about it. Nobody does anything about these [criminals,] but it’s our fault? We haven’t done anything wrong. I’m tired of this crap.”
What emboldens gun rights supporters is a recent Supreme Court decision, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association vs. Bruen, which struck down extensive limits on concealed carry and called into question the future of any gun control legislation.
“Given the Bruen [case], there’s no way this can stand,” Pearson said.
Vandermyde says gun control supporters have attempted to frame the debate about modern weapons compared to late 18th century firearms, but says the argument isn’t valid.
“They keep talking about weapons of war. Flintlocks were once weapons of war. Percussion cap rifles were once weapons of war. Bolt action rifles are still used by today’s military and have been ever since the times of the Civil War,” he said. “If [they] want to apply that standard, then the First Amendment doesn’t apply to the internet, TV or radio. Rights are rights. The First Amendment can apply to modern times, so does the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court has expressly said [the Second Amendment] applies to modern firearms.”
While the bill, at least in some form, is widely expected to win legislative approval (it will require just 60 votes in the House and 30 in the Senate after Jan. 1) and Governor JB Pritzker has stated his support for an assault weapons ban, one can expect the issue to head straight to federal court.
“The gun owners of this state have played nice and played by the rules. No matter how law abiding we are, it’s never enough. There are no more negotiations,” Vandermyde said. “Pass the most God awful piece of legislation you can and we will see you in court.”
WHY BARICKMAN IS RESIGNING FROM THE SENATE
Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) blindsided much of the political class in the state Monday dropping a surprise announcement that he would resign from the Senate at the end of the current General Assembly.
Barickman, 47, has was elected to the Senate in 2012 after a single term in the House.
He has been one of the highest profile GOP lawmakers in the last decade, negotiating high stakes pieces of legislation and being a GOP vote for hot button issues like gay marriage and the legalization of marijuana.
(Disclosure: I managed Barickman’s first primary race in 2012 and we remain friends.)
While most politicians who cite “spending more time with family” often use it as a misdirection from the real reason, Barickman, who has three children between the ages of 5 and 11, says he has decided to make his kids the focus.
“I have been on a sprint for a decade,” Barickman said. “I had a law career that was thriving and a real estate company that really took off five years ago. I’d made all of these choices in my life that booked up my calendar but made me unavailable for [my family.] So, I really reflected on where my priorities were.”
Barickman considered a race for congress in 2015 and said he discussed running statewide this year, but said he couldn’t do so with a young family at home.
“As I look ahead at how I want to spend my days and nights, I concluded I want to be much more involved in their day-to-day lives than I’ve been,” he said. “I’m talking about being an everyday, normal dad, who is raising kids and available to be at all of games and activities they’re involved in.”
Barickman often drove home from Springfield after session each night back to Bloomington. After redistricting his district expanded from six counties to 13.
He has spent the past two years as a top lieutenant to Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods), who was recently deposed by the GOP caucus, likely leaving Barickman on the outside looking in.
Asked if potentially losing a seat at the table influenced his decision to step aside, he said “zero.”
Barickman says he has no plans to lobby and says the decision was made to step aside recently, and was influenced by the beating Republicans across the state took in November.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you the outcome of the November election was tough,” he said, but claimed it wasn’t the deciding factor in his decision.
“It really has been a long time coming,” he said. “It has been an evolution.”
Asked if he’s open to seeking elected office again, Barickman said “that’s not at all something I’m thinking about.”
I’ll have more for paid subscribers tomorrow on what Barickman’s resignation means for the GOP.
WHO REPLACES BARICKMAN?
Good question, Patrick. I’m glad you asked.
Here’s how the new 53rd District breaks down in share of the vote:
So, no county chairman will be able to anoint a Senator on their own.
The two most obvious candidates are Rep. Tom Bennett (R-Gibson City) and the newly-elected Representative in the 105th District, Dennis Tipsword of Woodford County.
Bennett did not return a call from The Illinoize Tuesday. Tipsword said it was too early for him to comment on whether he would seek the appointment.
Other names that will likely pop up include former Sen. Shane Cultra and Normal Town Council member Scott Preston, who recently lost a race for the State Representative in the 91st District. (Preston would have had to move into the new House district, but lives in Barickman’s district.) Other names we’ve heard pop up already include Woodford County Board Member Autum Jones, Woodford County Coroner Tim Ruestman, as well as Livingston County Board members Jason Bunting and Mike Kirkton (Kirkton ran in the 105th District primary in June).
One name you likely won’t see mentioned is that of Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington), who recently lost the race for Illinois Secretary of State. Brady was drawn out of his current House district (and Barickman’s Senate district) and wouldn’t be eligible for the Senate appointment.