Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy is apparently still living in denial that 49 States currently have CCW. Illinois is the only state that does not. He still attempts to make the argument that CCW will lead to more crime!!! Is his argument that IL is so different that they cannot possibly use the model used by ANY of the other 49 states?

He essentially says for citizens to watch out that legal or not Officers will probably shoot CCW license holders! Check it out at: http://newsinblack.com/news-article/item/965-police-superintendent-says-concealed-carry-could-lead-to-more-shootings.html

During an interview on radio station WVON 1690 am and Newsinblack last week, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said he was disappointed with the media only pointing out problems with crime and not reporting on solutions. But perhaps the most surprising comments from the city’s top cop came when McCarthy commented on the upcoming concealed carry law that must be passed in Illinois within the next six months after a federal appeals court last month ruled the state’s ban on concealed carry unconstitutional. McCarthy made a bold and scary prediction that citizens carrying legally could be shot by Chicago police as he reiterated his stance against arming legal citizens.

“You put more guns on the street expect more shootings,” McCarthy said. “I don’t care if they’re licensed legal firearms, people who are not highly trained… putting guns in their hands is a recipe for disaster. So I’ll train our officers that there is a concealed carry law, but when somebody turns with a firearm in their hand the officer does not have an obligation to wait to get shot to return fire and we’re going to have tragedies as a result of that. I’m telling you right up front.”

McCarthy would not say what specific training officers will undertake if any. However, he did admit that in the past his department has made mistakes in shooting unarmed civilians. He believes the concealed carry law will increase those types of unfortunate incidents.

“You say concealed carry I say Trayvon Martin. Police officers make mistakes all the time,” McCarthy said. “We spend six months in the police academy, six months of field training and ongoing training on a regular basis and the fact is once in a while we’re going to shoot someone with a cellphone; we’re going to shoot somebody with a flashlight and none of that is okay. But now you take John Q. Civilian, you give them six weeks or 10 weeks of training and you say ‘have at it?’ The fact is more guns are not the solution to the firearm gun violence problem in this country. Less guns and reasonable gun laws are. And just because it’s 49 states to one doesn’t mean the state of Illinois is wrong on that one.”

McCarthy’s comments drew immediate and intense criticism from citizens in favor of concealed carry and from people who teach concealed carry courses. Rick Pere, a civilian military contractor and former police officer who lives in downstate Illinois and teaches both the Utah and Florida concealed carry classes, said McCarthy’s comments were full of ignorance and add to the misinformation being given to citizens in Cook County and Chicago. He said McCarthy’s comments come from his position as superintendent, which must coincide with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

“McCarthy comes from an anti-gun culture in the city of New York and he is a political fixture even though he does ride with his officers occasionally who are out on patrol. He has forgotten where he’s come from,” Pere said. “He’s a politician and they have to sing the chorus of the local political power so they can maintain their jobs. Officers in the rank and file are mostly for concealed carry.”

Even McCarthy’s own department does not agree with his stance on the issue. Both the Chicago Police Sergeant's and Lieutenant's Associations have publicly come out in favor of concealed carry with the Lieutenant’s Association going as far as saying it will enhance public safety.

“We recognize the importance and need for citizens in the state of Illinois to be legally allowed to protect themselves with the right to carry a weapon concealed. We feel that it would enhance citizen safety and in the end make our job easier,” read a statement from Robert Weisskopf, president of the Lieutenant’s Association.

McCarthy maintains the problems with violence in Chicago stem from guns laws that have no teeth in them and the proliferation of guns. McCarthy helped make an arrest on New Year’s Day of a 23 year-old man on the city’s West Side that allegedly had a gun on him. McCarthy said it was the suspect’s first offense and it will be interesting to see how the courts deal with him. He said in order for gun crimes to decline, there must be a broader approach from politicians, judges, law enforcement and the community.

“We picked up 90 guns on Jan. 1,” McCarthy said. “Our cops had 90 opportunities to get shot at. In Chicago we pick up nine guns to every one gun the New York City Police Department picks up and the ratio is 3 to 1 compared to Los Angeles. In New York there is a mandatory minimum of three years imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm. Without consequences we can’t get the results we want. NFL player Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself and spent two years in prison in New York. That’s not happening in Illinois.”

McCarthy said he is concerned about the image of Chicago when it comes to how crime is being reported in the media. He said the strides his department is making on a regular basis are not being reported and this is creating a sense of doom and gloom with the public.

“I’m fired up today because I’m seeing a media obsession with focusing on problems and not on solutions and it’s starting to really wear on me and get under my skin,” McCarthy said. “We are disregarding the facts and creating an obsession. Last Saturday we had no shootings in the city; zero… but nobody will report that. It was consciously disregarded.”

McCarthy said the police department is just one part of the criminal justice system. He said he constantly works with the state’s attorney’s office to provide them with good cases to prosecute, but he said judges, who are elected by the public, must also do their part and dole out tough sentences. McCarthy said that is only possible if politicians in Springfield, Ill. do their part and make the sentences for crimes with guns harsher as judges can only sentence those convicted of crimes based off of laws that come out of Springfield.