Nightmare Scenario Illustrates Need For Concealed Carry

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Aug 15, 2012, 10:47 ET

CHICAGO, Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

An off-duty Chicago police officer is lucky to have survived what would qualify as a 'nightmare' by anybody's definition.

While riding his personal motorcycle through Maywood on his way home from work at about 10:30 PM last Saturday night, the officer saw a small child dart out into traffic right in front of him. In an act of heroism, the officer laid his motorcycle down and slid along the pavement to avoid hitting the child - causing the officer to sustain serious leg and shoulder damage. Unfortunately, the child also received some minor injuries in the mishap.

Just as the officer was regrouping and trying to assist the child, he was set upon by the child's father - a convicted felon - and the child's uncle. The two men had beaten the officer nearly to death before he was able to draw his backup weapon and fatally wound the child's father. The shooting halted the uncle's attack as well.

As nightmarish as this situation was for the downed officer, it would have been much worse had he been an ordinary Illinois citizen rather than an off duty cop. That's because the Illinois General Assembly continues to prohibit law-abiding citizens from carrying defensive firearms to protect themselves and their families. Thus, had this man been an ordinary citizen, he would have lay there helplessly as this pair of street thugs administered one bone-crunching blow after another until his life had been snuffed out.

"Had that cyclist been a civilian, he'd be dead today," said ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. "But, he was lucky that he is a cop and is allowed to carry a concealed weapon while off duty. For millions of other good Illinois citizens, that level of self defense just isn't an option."

"What happened in Maywood earlier this week shows all too well that life-or-death situations can spring up at a moment's notice," continued Pearson. "One minute you're enjoying life, the next minute you're fighting to stay alive. Self defense isn't an issue in the 49 states that do allow qualified citizens to carry defensive firearms. But, on any given day here in Illinois, hundreds of law-abiding citizens find out first hand what it's like to be totally vulnerable to the whims of robbers, rapists, muggers and murderers. Every day, the hands of Governor Quinn, Speaker Madigan, and Mayor Emanuel become more deeply drenched in the blood of good citizens who are denied the right to defend themselves. It's time for the Illinois General Assembly to stop stonewalling and pass life saving self defense legislation."

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