"Gun advocates win, but so does common sense"

[mosin]

From the Chicago Tribune:

Gun advocates win, but so does common sense

Nearly two dozen gun-rights advocates in the viewing gallery of a Cook County courtroom burst into applause Monday afternoon after Judge James Linn found Roderick Pritchett, 26, not guilty of a felony weapons charge that could have sent him to prison for three years.

But the acquittal was not so much a victory for gun rights as it was a triumph for common sense--the proposition that whatever mistakes Pritchett may or may not have made in storing a semi-automatic pistol in his car, he's not a proper target in the war on gun violence.

<snip>

The blue shirts, six of whom said they were from Downstate, were all middle-age white men. They looked like such an unusual bunch at the trial of a young African-American defendant charged with a victimless crime that Linn asked them before the proceedings got under way if they were "part of some class or something."

Not exactly. They had come to the courthouse at 26th Street and California Avenue because, they said, they saw Pritchett as an example of an honest citizen victimized by overzealous enforcement of firearm laws. Key to their support, Birch said, was their belief in his contention that the gun in his car was not loaded.

Illinois law allows licensed firearms owners to transport guns in cars as long as they're enclosed in a case and unloaded.

I was gratified to hear of Mr. Pritchett's acquittal on Monday. I previously made a small donation to his legal defense fund.

[beevul]

1. My comments...

Its good to see a win for the good guys (gun owners in general) here, and most importantly, Roderick Pritchett. He stood to lose alot, but had the courage to stand up for whats right and did just that, instead of taking any deals. If I still lived in MN, I would have driven to the trial to show support in person.

/salute Roderick Pritchett

/cheer Roderick Pritchett


"The blue shirts, six of whom said they were from Downstate, were all middle-age white men. They looked like such an unusual bunch at the trial of a young African-American defendant charged with a victimless crime that Linn asked them before the proceedings got under way if they were "part of some class or something."



Those durned racist gun owners...:eyes:

[mosin]

2. Roderick Pritchett

I could very much identify with Roderick. I was simultaneously enraged and brought to tears when I read Roderick's original statement describing his ordeal. It's the attitude, the bigotry -- racial and anti-gun -- the evil that pervades places like Cook County that makes me so much of a zealot. I was gratified by the support he received from fellow gun-owners. It gives me hope.

[beevul]

3. I remember...

reading the original news reports and being SO disgusted.

"I was gratified by the support he received from fellow gun-owners. It gives me hope."

That is my sentiment as well.

I think most pro-gunners would see it that way.

It may not be completely over yet though, rumor has it Mr. Pritchett still has not recieved his personal property back from the authoritys.

[iverglas]

4. gosh

A lot of great minds around here seem to read the Chicago Tribune pretty regularly. Some kind of collective consciousness at work here?

Dupe.

edit: oops, the other one's the doop, I guess. Same title even. What an amazing coincidence it is, eh?

.

[slackmaster]

5. Some dare call it - Conspiracy

Amazing, isn't it? Two people almost simultaneously post a summary of an article in a major US newspaper using the exact same title that the newspaper used. One of them used quotation marks to try to disguise the plot, but nobody here was fooled, eh?

:tinfoilhat: