To get everyone up to speed, Cook county, Illinois (the county Chicago is in) has an "assault weapons" ban, a handgun ban, mandatory gun registration, a 10-round limit on magazines, and no concealed carry. Thanks to these wonderful provisions, there were only 443 homicides last year.
Even so, the politicians feel that it is not enough. There's another measure being proposed that would make the sale of guns in Cook county illegal, which would close down several stores and cost the city some $675,000+ in revenue.
There's a hotline set up where people can phone in on whether or not they support the bill. Presumably they did this to show how much support there is for the bill, but I'd like the scale to tip in the other direction. You don't need to be a resident of Cook country to do this, and even if they don't count votes from phones with out-of-state area codes, it doesn't hurt to try. They'll ultimately do whatever they want, but I don't want to just sit by and do nothing, even if the something isn't significant.
If you want to call in and vote, the number is 1-312-603-6400. Then just follow the prompts. Right now it's #1 - #1 - #2 to oppose, but as people get the word out I wouldn't put it past them to change the options to mess with people who aren't paying attention. So, if any of you (especially the Illinois residents) want to take part, it's appreciated.
