Love and death, Chicago style

by Tim Inwood

Illinois is a beautiful state with a great history, but it is a state that is dragged down by the ridiculous liberal politics and policies of the Chicago area and its suburbs. The liberals and progressives of the Chicago area have kept the rest of the citizens of Illinois from having a right to carry firearms for their defense for too long. Recently the liberals also made it safer for criminals in Illinois to kill without fear of like retribution from the state. That was a terrible mistake as that piece of feel-good progressive legislation cost a thirty-six year old woman her life in mid April.

Jitka Vesel, like many Americans, was tired of the traditional dating scene and had turned to the Internet to find romance. There, in 2008, she met Dmitri Smirnov on an online dating site. The fact that he was sixteen years younger and in Canada did not stop the two from starting an online romance, and in the end Smirnov came to the United States to be with Vesel. However the romance soured in short order and a smitten, bitter Smirnov returned to Canada. That is when the stalking and harassment began.

Eventually things got bad enough that Jitka contacted the authorities to complain about Smirnov's behavior. However, with him being in Canada, little could be done about it. She had good reason to be fearful as Smirnov was planning to take his revenge on her for breaking his heart. He obviously did some planning as he researched on his computer if Illinois had the death penalty, purchased a GPS tracking unit and made arrangements to buy a .40 caliber handgun in the Seattle, Washington area.

Around April 9th, 2011, Smirnov arrived in the Chicago area to carry out his murderous plot for vengeance. Using a computer, he located Jitka's new home and managed to attach the GPS unit to her car. He then tracked her movements. On the evening of Wednesday April 13 as she exited her car he ran up on her and shot her with the .40 caliber pistol. After emptying the gun into her he reloaded and continued shooting the poor woman. He wanted to make sure she was dead. He murdered her, but in my view the State of Illinois helped him do it.

Illinois forbids its citizens to carry a gun for self defense. In fact, until the McDonald decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last year, Chicago and several of its satellite suburbs denied people the ability to even own a handgun. Would a concealed handgun permit and pistol have saved Jitka Vesel's life? That we don't know for sure. However, with one, she would have at least had a fighting chance to survive the attack. What we do know is the state's denying her the ability to have a gun for her defense meant she was a sitting duck with NO chance to defend herself from a madman. That prohibition on carrying arms and the recent decision to abolish the death penalty killed this young woman. After the police took Smirnov into custody he admitted he decided to kill her after he learned Illinois would not execute him.

When will these progressive fools learn that we who carry guns for our defense are not Neanderthals or barbarians? We are rational people being prudent in a dangerous world. It is these liberals seeking their nonexistent utopia who are getting people killed. That, my friends, is not only delusional, it is barbaric. Let us pray the people of Illinois rise up and restore their right to defend themselves before more innocents die over such high-minded but misguided nonsense.

Tim Inwood is the current Legislative Liaison and Past President of the Clinton County Farmers and Sportsmen Association, an Endowment Member of the NRA and Life Member of the OGCA, Republican Central Committeeman for Chester Township A, in Clinton County, Ohio, and a volunteer for Buckeye Firearms Association.