SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Jan. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

The ISRA has it on good authority that Illinois Senate President John Cullerton is about to introduce a sweeping gun control bill when the Senate returns to its lame duck session later this week.  Based on what is known about the proposal, it would result in the banning and confiscation of most privately-owned firearms in the state.

Interestingly, the news of Cullerton's proposed gun ban comes on the heels of a pair of announcements regarding Chicago's crime rate.  As 2012 drew to a close, Chicago's homicide tally broke through the 500-mark for the first time in nearly a decade.  It was also announced that 2012 saw twice as many bank robberies in Chicago than were recorded in 2011.  Those two indictments of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's ability to control his city's crime rate piled on to his already tarnished record including high-profile flash mob attacks against tourists on the Gold Coast, the stabbing of a doctor on the Magnificent Mile, and now almost a dozen shootings as Chicago rang in the new year.

Emanuel's ineffectiveness as a crime fighter is matched only by his inability to establish priorities.  While victims 493, 494 and 495 bled out in the streets of his Chicago, Emanuel was busily penning op-ed pieces explaining why he feels it is necessary to take guns away from hunters and sportsmen in Naperville and Mattoon.  Emanuel's call to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens is a desperate attempt to divert attention away from the growing lawlessness on Chicago's streets.  Emanuel is fortunate in that he has John Cullerton at his disposal to perpetuate this charade in the Illinois Senate.

"The ISRA is not going to sit idly by while Emanuel and Cullerton trash the rights of law-abiding firearm owners," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson.  "We are more than prepared to fight this latest attack in the legislature and, if necessary, in the courts."

The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership.  For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the rights of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.

WEB SITE: http://www.isra.org

SOURCE Illinois State Rifle Association