Facing defeat in U.S. courts, Chicago Mayor Daley suggests "appeal" to World Court

by Gerard Valentino

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is clearly getting desperate to save the city's longtime ban on private ownership of firearms. With the prospect looming of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling his city's ban unconstitutional, and after the state Supreme Court tossed his $433 million lawsuit against the gun industry, he is now calling for a change of venue — to the World Court normally reserved for disputes between nations and crimes against humanity.

They mayor's actions are dripping in hypocrisy since for years, Daley has demanded freedom from the Illinois state government and now he is willing to sacrifice United States sovereignty at the altar of gun control.

Daley's actions are those of a man becoming unhinged at no longer being in complete control.

After all, he has had complete control over the city since his election as mayor. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to force him to give up his pet gun ban and instead of accepting another loss over gun control, Daley is throwing another one of his infamous tantrums.

But who can blame him since he has ruled Chicago for so long without allowing dissent.

Mayor Daley is a deft and accomplished politician and only uses a tool if it helps him achieve his goals. He can't get a total ban on private ownership of guns through the legislature, or at the ballot box and now the U.S. court system has failed him. So, he is moving on to the next possibility to uphold his anti-gun lunacy.

You can bet his attempt to take American gun companies to the World Court is driven by the fact that he knows the court will rule in his favor.

If Mayor Daley really wants to make a stand in favor of gun control he should put his gun control plan to work by refusing to accept armed bodyguards and travel around Chicago unarmed in the same manner he demands of the citizenry. That won't happen because like most anti-gun politicians, Daley is an elitist hypocrite who wants to live one way, while the people live another.

Mayor Daley also has a vested interest in blaming gun companies, gun advocates and gun laws for the unprecedented violence occurring in Chicago. As long as he can convince voters that the guns flooding Chicago are put there by the evil gun industry that is skirting the law, it takes the heat off of his inability to stop the killing. Shifting the blame is only part of the problem, however. Daley also has to make sure that Illinois never passes a legal concealed carry law.

He knows that eventually Illinois will join the 48 other states that allow legal concealed carry which will take away even more of his control. If Chicago is flooded with legally carried guns without an increase in violence, it will also further expose Daley’s lies. When that happens, he will finally have to answer for the fact that he hasn’t been able to stop the violence in Chicago.

Long before legal concealed carry becomes law in Illinois, the Chicago ban will finally be overturned. We can only guess what stunt Mayor Daley will pull to keep Chicagoans from being able to properly exercise their right to keep and bear arms. Everyone knows he won't simply give up, as he should, and let the ban die.

They say the true character of a man is exposed after suffering a meaningful loss - just the type of loss Daley is likely to suffer when the U.S. Supreme Court finally rules against the Chicago gun ban and when he fails to bring gun companies to the World Court.

Once all of his attempts at stopping the inevitable have failed, Mayor Daley has a choice. He can accept his loss gracefully and finally open his mind, or he can dig his heels in like an obstinate donkey.

For most people who have followed the Chicago gun ban saga, it won't be much of a challenge to guess which stance he will take.

Gerard Valentino is a member of the Buckeye Firearms Foundation Board of Directors and his first book, "The Valentino Chronicles – Observations of a Middle Class Conservative," is available through the Buckeye Firearms Association store..

Additional Information:
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