Chicago - City of Corruption

Chicago Alderman Skirts Gun Law

That the city of Chicago is corrupt should come as no surprise to anyone living near that metropolis. I first became aware of politics around the age of six, listening to my parents discussing the reports of voting "irregularities" in the 1960 Presidential election. Some seventeen years later, I would make friends with a former Chicago resident who casually informed me that his parents had paid a judge to get felony charges against his brother dismissed. "It was cheaper than paying a lawyer to do it." He said. "That's how things work in Chicago." His father was in the construction business and was "connected", as he put it, inside city hall.

So it comes as no surprise to see more corruption coming out of Chicago. This time, Alderman Richard Mell is showing how Democrats run the city. Apparently there are two classes of people in Chicago - the privileged elite, like Alderman Richard Mell and everyone else.

Here are the facts, as reported in a Chicago Sun-Times article. Chicago has mandatory annual firearms registration. If you forget to register your guns in any one year, they become unregisterable.

"You have to re-new your registration certificate annually 60 days prior to the current registration [deadline]. If you don't do that, the firearm is unregisterable," said Law Department spokesperson Jennifer Hoyle.

Mell said he first realized he was in violation of the re-registration requirement about a year ago. He claims he previously gave this task to "an aide" who, he said, apparently dropped the ball. When he tried to re-register his guns belatedly, the Chicago Police Department's Gun Registration Section refused to bend the rules. Mell appealed that ruling to the city's Department of Administrative Hearings but decided to re-write the law instead."When we looked at the law, we saw the possibility of winning [the appeal] wasn't gonna happen," he said.

Unlike other Chicago gun owners who have been prosecuted for failing to register their guns, had guns confiscated or have had to move their guns out of Chicago, Mell wants to write an exemption for himself by opening the gun registry for just one month.

And he has the backing of Mayor Richard Daley too.

Even FOP President Mark Donahue has questioned the proposed change as a "double standard".

"We have retired police officers who have a right to carry concealed weapons across the country, and they're being barred from registering their weapons in Chicago. We've taken one of these cases to Circuit Court. Dick Mell has taken his case to the City Council," the union president said.

"Whether he knows it or not, the mayor, by this agreement [to endorse a temporary gun amnesty] is establishing a double standard. One for members of the City Council, the other for everybody else."

So if you want to see a picture of Alderman Mell, just look in your dictionary next to the word hypocrite.

Smith & Wesson Model 10

a.k.a. Military & Police Revolver

I recently picked up a like-new Smith & Wesson Military & Police revolver, more commonly called the Model 10. For those of you born after police switched to semi-auto pistols, this was the most popular police revolver of all time. Not because of it's "stopping power" and not because of fancy "tactical" features. Because it was simply the basic .38 Special revolver. And, of course, it was cheap.

The M&P started life in 1899 with the idea of a swing-out cylinder for faster loading and reloading. This was a big advance over single-action revolvers with their loading gate. It was also a stronger frame & action than the break-top revolvers like the Schofield and smaller .32 caliber pistols.

Between 1899 and about 1942 the M&P went through some relatively minor changes to improve the model. During WW-II, an internal safety lever was added to prevent an unintentional discharge if it was dropped. It was just this sort of accident aboard a U.S. Navy ship that spurred the new feature. And that feature still exists in S&W revolvers today.

In the post-war years, many police departments issued the M&P as the basic weapon for police officers. S&W wasn't the only brand in police holsters to be sure. Colt also marketed several models to police departments, touting Colt's superior accuracy or the heavier duty frame of the Official Police. The marketing battles between the two companies rivals that of Coke vs. Pepsi or Ford vs. GM. And it was not unusual for some aspiring police officers to avoid applying at agencies using the "wrong" brand.

The M&P has, historically, been the most popular, best selling revolver in the S&W line-up. In addition to police guns, many of the 1 million "Victory Model" guns - essentially an M&P with a parkerized finish and a lanyard ring - were purchased after the end of the war. Many of these were bought for simple protection and many others were the basis of some "project" the owner had in mind. Between 1946 and today, when the average citizen walked into a gun shop looking for a handgun to protect his family, most likely it was the "plain Jane" M&P that went home with him. It's simple, well balanced and fires a cartridge that is "good enough" to do the job. But most of all, it didn't break the household budget.

The M&P revolver has served both police and the military for over 100 years. The term tactical cannot be applied to the M&P. There is no-thing "tactical" about it. As you can see in these photos, this is about as simple as it gets. Perhaps the right term for it is high speed, low drag simply because there is nothing to get in the way of the simple process of shooting the gun.

The photos presented here are of the M&P I purchased recently. It was made in 1969-70 by the serial number and it is in like-new condition. The blued finish is still glossy and deep, just the way it came from the factory. The primary reason I purchased this one is that it sports a 5-inch barrel instead of the more popular 4-inch or 6-inch tube. The first gun I ever learned to shoot was an old WW-II Victory Model with a 5-inch barrel. My father purchased it in 1948 by mail-order for a grand total of $28.75. It had been reblued but still carried the lanyard ring and US Property markings. This one is about 20 years younger, but it still feels the same.

If you are new to handguns and looking for something to protect your home or business, don't overlook the Model 10 M&P revolver. It's not fancy. It's not "tactical". It's not a magnum powerhouse. But it does have a proven track record. When something works for over 100 years it is worth serious consideration. Used specimens can usually be found in your local gun shop for a much more modest sum than you'd pay for that 9mm tactical tupperware pistol or even a brand new Model 10. Depending on condition and what part of the country you are in, you can find a Model 10 for $195 and up. Even a pristine gun like the one I found doesn't sell for more than $350 here in expensive California.

With its virtues and simple elegance, everybody should own a Model 10 M&P.

Philly Mayor Nutter - Appropriately Named

Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter claims the N.R.A. owes an apology to the family of a Philly police officer slain with a Chinese made semi-automatic rifle. You can read the news article in the Daily News here.


"I think it's insane," Nutter said. "The fact that we put forward a piece of legislation to prevent the sale and use and transfer of assault weapons and have a Philadelphia police officer assaulted on the streets with one, I think makes it pretty clear to anyone who is confused about this issue that there's no reason for any citizen, any person other than in law enforcement or in the military to have such a weapon."


While Nutter wants to ban certain rifles on Philly streets - and no doubt enforce it vigorously to show us he's a "law and order" mayor, when it comes to obeying laws of government, Nutter ignores those that get in his way.


Nutter signed five local anti-gun bills in Philidelphia, including one to outlaw possession and sale of certain semi-automatic rifles (those scary and evil-looking military-style rifles of course). The problem, however, is that his newly signed laws are, themselves illegal. The State, not the city, has jurisdiction over gun laws in Pennsylvania. Nutter should be lobbying Harrisburg to pass any new gun legislation, not issuing dictatorial fiats.


And because the NRA has obtained a temporary restraining order on the grounds that the State, not the city, has jurisdiction over firearms laws, he's blaming the NRA as being partly to blame.


He added: "There's no legitimate argument by the NRA, they need to get in the real world where the rest of us live and come to grips with these kinds of issues. They owe an apology to the family for their staunch opposition over many, many years blocking legislative support for these kinds of matters."


So, Nutter is blaming the N.R.A. for his failure to follow the law and get legislation enacted for his city. It's so very typical of political leaders to push the blame to someone else rather than face up to their own failed policies.


At least one former Philadelphia police officer sees the reality. In an opinion piece Michael P. Tremoglie nails it right from the get-go with the title - Who Freed the Cop Killers? Tremoglie hits it squarely on the head. Each of the three cop killers were repeat offenders and each of them should have been serving out their time in prison. Instead, they were released on parole early, despite records of parole violations in the past.


And now, Nutter has joined with Governor Rendell to issue a joint statement to ask Congress to ban assault weapons again. Of course, he says it's the NRA's fault for opposing useless, ineffective laws that don't stop criminals. In the statement, Nutter claims "The mission of the NRA seems to be to frustrate efforts by legislatures around the United States as they attempt to pass reasonable gun control measures designed to make our streets safer."


Message to Mayor Nutter: It's not the guns, it's the criminals who cause crime.