Release of all FOID Card Holder's names to the public

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Illinois A.G. Lisa Madigan has asked the Illinois State Police to make public the names of all FOID Card Holders in Illinois.

All Police Agencies and Organizations in Illinois must do something to address Madigan's Daughter, who has no respect for any gun owners in Illinois.

This will list the names of all gun owners in Illinois and give these names to those who will burglarize homes in Illinois.

You must be aware of the police officer who was shot to death 5 months ago by his girlfriend's brother who's main attempt was to steal the officers guns, which were in a safe in his house. It would be nice if 11,000 policemen send letters to A. G. of Illinois Lisa Madigan. This would probably
get the press involved and may be wake her up too.

See John Kass's following column.

Decent folk may get hurt, and Lisa Madigan would bear much of the responsibility.

by John Kass, Chicago Tribune March 4, 2011

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants to make public the names of every law-abiding citizen who owns a gun.

That sounds like so much politics aimed at those who don't like the idea of people owning guns. You can see the political potential for Lisa.

But when those names are released, there's potential of another kind. Burglars may target law-abiding residents to steal their valuable firearms.

Some people may get hurt. I'm not just talking about the burglars, who shouldn't expect milk and cookies if they break into someone's home.

Decent folk may get hurt too. And if they do, there's one person who will bear much of the responsibility for the carnage:

Lisa Madigan.

In an opinion released this week, Madigan's office tells the Illinois State Police to release the names of those holding firearm owner's identification cards.

The FOID is administered by the Illinois State Police, which run background checks. The FOID records have always been available to law enforcement officers working cases, but not to reporters.

Recently, though, The Associated Press began requesting those records under the Freedom of Information Act, arguing that it is in the public interest to have the FOID process made public.

An AP story included these quotes from the opinion written by Madigan's office.

"The General Assembly has clearly determined that it is in the public interest to provide a system for identifying those who are qualified to acquire or possess firearms through the issuance of FOID cards," wrote Matthew Rogina of Madigan's office.

"The public, therefore, has a legitimate interest in (the Illinois State Police's) enforcement of the FOID card act," he continued.

Rogina is described as an assistant public access counselor. But it went out under Madigan's authority. There's no wiggle room here. She wears this one.

"It's just wrong," state Sen. Kirk Dillard told me.

Dillard, a DuPage County Republican and former candidate for governor, said he'll oppose the Madigan opinion and has already proposed legislation to stop it.

Madigan's opinion is just that — an opinion, not an order. Whether the names will be released is uncertain. But in the meantime, legislators like Dillard will seek to fine-tune the public disclosure laws to address this concern.

"We've got enough Big Brotherism already," Dillard said. "And now this has become a privacy and public safety issue."

And if that's not clear yet, it will be, as the burglary crews roll up and down your block, using a flashlight to read the results of their Freedom of Information requests.

Madigan doesn't want the addresses released, just the names. But names, in many cases, are all criminals need.

"The ones who want to know will find out, and you'll have law-abiding citizens in jeopardy, people getting hurt," Dillard said. "One woman called me and said she'll keep her guns, but she just won't register them. So people will skirt the registration process and you'll see more straw purchases of guns."

Now, I'm generally a First Amendment absolutist. And in most cases, the Freedom of Information laws must be overly broad, so the public can begin to know how its crooked governments are run.

These are the crooked governments I keep waiting for Lisa to investigate.

But for me, personally, this is a privacy issue and a safety issue. Safety, for the reasons expressed. But the privacy issue is also compelling.

Releasing the names of gun owners would subject them to solicitation and pressure. 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.

And 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. The American Civil Liberties Union would condemn such violation of privacy, and so would I, and so would Lisa Madigan.

These days, when every bit of fact, factoid, outright lie, gossip and truthiness on a person can be had with a few computer keystrokes, privacy is becoming the secular holy ground.

But for me, it's also quite personal. I'm a gun owner and FOID holder, and that makes me a distinct minority in the news business.

I'm also a hunter, and I've been hunting since I was a little boy, since I was about 11 years old, when I started shooting rabbits with my dad over a little blond cocker spaniel.

Since then, there have been many hunting dogs and guns and hunts. So I know how to take care of a gun and clean one. And when I walk armed in the field, I never look one way while pointing the muzzle in the opposite direction. Never. Ever.

This coming spring, with our new German shorthaired pointer puppy we call Zeus, we'll join the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association. Hopefully, we'll have Zeus ready for field testing.

I plan to write about it, as we train the pup the NAVHDA way, and as my two sons get ready for live hunting in the fall. There's so much we want to do as a family.

It's something that all families have the right to do, if they wish, but privately, on their own terms, not on Lisa Madigan's.

jskass@tribune.com

The following were posted on Second City Cop

Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued an opinion Tuesday stating that all the names of gun owners in Illinois are public information and should be disclosed. This decree goes against the Illinois State Police mandate that these names are private and that releasing them is a serious invasion of privacy. To help organize the fight to keep the Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card list private, the Illinois Republican Party is offering an online petition for any Illinois citizen to sign so it can be used to help convince the Democrat led legislature to pass legislation introduced by Republican State Representative Ron Stephens and Republican State Senator Kirk Dillard that would keep Illinois gun ownership private.
Let Madigan know you don't appreciate her anti-gun owner agenda.



President Obama on Thursday appeared to reject the idea of arming U.S. agents in Mexico, saying after a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon that the two governments will look at other ways to protect American officials in the wake of a fatal shooting last month.

"There are laws in place in Mexico that say that our agents should not be armed," Obama said, describing the U.S. role south of the border as an "advisory" one. "We do not carry out law enforcement activities inside of Mexico."

The president's statement answers speculation about how far the administration would go in reforming safety measures in response to the killing three weeks ago of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico. The shooting death raised questions in the U.S. about Mexico's ability to control violence but U.S. officials earlier wouldn't say whether Obama would press the Mexican leader to allow U.S. agents to be armed.

Coming out of the meeting Thursday afternoon, both presidents stressed that U.S. agents cannot be armed. Obama said he was nevertheless concerned about the safety of agents and that they would examine "procedures and protocols" for how to better protect them.

Calderon said Mexican officials are "deeply analyzing alternatives."



President Obama, accompanied by Mexican President Felipe Calderon, makes an opening statement during their joint news conference March 3 in the White House.
Obama, signaling the two presidents discussed the killing, thanked the Mexican government Thursday for its cooperation in the investigation and vowed that the United States would be a "full partner" in fighting the drug cartels.

"Whether they live in Texas or Tijuana, our people have a right to be safe in their communities," Obama said.

Shortly before the meeting, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also told a House committee that the administration would seek to extradite the suspects in the case so they can be prosecuted in the United States.

Several suspects have been arrested in the killing of Zapata, and Mexican authorities say one has confessed. Napolitano declined to discuss reported statements from suspects being held in Mexico that the Feb. 15 killing was a case of mistaken identity

Despite the ongoing concerns about the ICE agent killing, the president was able to announce a breakthrough in a longstanding trucking dispute between the two countries.

Obama, speaking at a joint press conference with his Mexican counterpart, announced that the countries had "finally found a clear path" to resolving the trucking dispute, saying the proposal would lift tariffs on U.S. goods, expand U.S. exports and create jobs.

The plan would open up U.S. highways to Mexican trucks, removing a long-standing roadblock to improved relations between the North American allies. An Obama administration official said the two leaders have agreed to a phased-in plan that would authorize both Mexican and U.S. long-haul carriers to engage in cross-border operations, provided that the Mexican trucks meet U.S. safety standards. Both countries were given this authority under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, but the U.S. has refused to allow Mexican trucks access amid concerns over their ability to meet America's stringent safety and environmental standards.

At the press briefing Thursday, Obama also re-emphasized his commitment to pursuing comprehensive immigration reform, something that has eluded him so far.

The contentious debate over immigration dominated Calderon's visit to the White House in May, shortly after Arizona passed a law that makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and requires police to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're illegal. Mexico's government strongly opposes the law, and the Mexican Senate this week urged Calderon to again vehemently make their opposition known to Obama.

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Rep. Charles Gonzalez, D-Texas, said in a statement Thursday that his group remains "committed" to comprehensive immigration reform, despite the failure last year to pass a bill providing some illegal immigrant students and military members a pathway to legalized status. "Despite this impasse, the CHC remains committed to our stated goal of passing comprehensive immigration reform and will continue to work to find a bipartisan solution to one of our nation's most untenable problems," Gonzalez said.

Obama and Calderon were also expected to discuss U.S. aid to help support Mexico in the drug war, something Obama touched on at the press briefing. A senior administration official said the U.S. plans to speed up implementation of the $1.4 billion Merida Initiative, with $900 million to be doled out by the end of the year. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to preview the announcement.

The announcement comes as the State Department issued a report praising Mexico's government for increased drug seizures and better efforts to combat narcotics trafficking and money laundering. But it said Mexican production of marijuana, heroin and methamphetamines was rapidly rising, and that cartels were becoming even more dangerous through use of sniper rifles, grenades and increasingly military tactics.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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