Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants to make public the names of every law-abiding citizen who owns a gun. When those names are released, burglars may target law-abiding residents to steal their valuable firearms, says the Chicago Tribune’s John Kass. Some people may get hurt.
Madigan this week told the Illinois State Police to release the names of those holding firearm owner’s identification cards. State Sen. Kirk Dillard has proposed legislation to overturn the opinion. “We’ve got enough Big Brotherism already,” Dillard said. “And now this has become a privacy and public safety issue.” Releasing the names of gun owners would subject them to solicitation and pressure, says Kass. The National Rifle Association would use the list to seek new members. And anti-gun political pressure groups would have the opportunity to apply leverage on gun owners at their homes. What if — rather than releasing the names of gun owners — some state official advocated the release of a list of those who’ve had nervous breakdowns or abortions or other medical issues? Most people would be outraged, and with good reason. Kass says.