SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Feb. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

Chicago's embattled police superintendent dug himself deeper into a pit of controversy today by claiming that lawful firearm owners are agents of political corruption.  Appearing on a Chicago Sunday morning talk show, superintendent Garry McCarthy expressed his conviction that firearm owners who lobby their elected representatives or who donate money to political campaigns are engaged in corruption that endangers public safety.  McCarthy went on to express his belief that judges and legislators should rely on public opinion polls when interpreting our Constitution.

After totally dismissing the citizen's right to redress grievances, McCarthy trained his constitutional wisdom on the 2^nd Amendment.  Despite recent court decisions to the contrary, McCarthy opined that the 2^nd Amendment limits citizens to owning smooth-bore muskets.  McCarthy went on to say that he believes that the 2^nd Amendment supports mandatory liability insurance for firearm owners and the mandatory application of GPS tracking devices to civilian owned firearms.

"Garry McCarthy's understanding of our Constitution barely qualifies him as a meter maid, never mind the chief of the nation's third largest police department," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson.  "What on earth would possess McCarthy to assert that constitutional rights should be meted out based on public opinion polls?  Let's not forget that public opinion polls once opposed a woman's right to vote while it would be a safe bet that, at one time, polls would have shown lynching as an acceptable form of justice.  It has been said that our Constitution exists to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority.  McCarthy's view of our Constitution is dangerous and unbecoming of a civil servant."

"McCarthy needs to understand that the lawful firearm owners of this state will continue to lobby their representatives and continue to support candidates who represent their interests," continued Pearson.  "If Garry McCarthy doesn't like that, well that's just too bad.  If McCarthy is so interested in influence peddling, he should pop into some of the gin mills ringing the Illinois Capitol and count the ruddy red noses of taxpayer-funded lobbyists for the City of Chicago."

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 interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.

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

SOURCE Illinois State Rifle Association