Joseline Cano
Feature Editor
January 9, 2019
Oak Park’s vote for stringent gun laws has no hope of seeing progress in the near future.
On Nov. 6 midterm elections, the city of Oak Park overwhelmingly voted yes to a nonbinding firearm storage referendum. According to the Cook County Clerk’s Office, approximately 23,992 of the 26,210 votes casted, voted for stricter regulations on safe gun storage.
Back in April, Sandra Shimon, a resident of Oak Park, gathered the necessary 15 signatures to pose the question on the ballot. It read, “Shall all firearms be required by law to be stored in a safe and secure manner that prevents access by unauthorized persons, when such firearms are not under the direct personal control of the owner?”
A non-binding referendum is a written motion that can not be turned into a law. Oak Park Trustee Deno J. Andrews said, “There is no plan on taking the referendum further as of now. The referendum is not a legislative mandate. It was created by residents who believed that Oak Park needs stricter gun laws.”
After the Parkland High School shooting in February, Oak Park River Forest High School students walked out of class demanding gun control nationwide. When posed with the option of whether teachers should be armed in case of a school shooting, OPRF voted no stating that only law enforcement are properly trained and licensed to carry firearms.
Andrew said, “We had a gun ban but it was overturned by the supreme court meaning that it is legal now to own a handgun in Oak Park.”
Oak Park’s battle with gun control and restrictions began in 1983 when a Chicago cop, Hutchie Moore, pulled out a gun and shot Oak Park attorney James Piszczor and Judge Henry Gentile in the middle of a trial.
The incident led to the Nov. 1985 vote that prompted the Chicago Tribune to publish a story calling Oak Park the first town to beat the NRA. The vote banned hand-guns from being owned or sold in the Oak Park neighborhood.
In 2010, McDonald v. Chicago overturned Oak Park’s ban claiming it as unconstitutional. Oak Park kept restrictions on the selling and loaning of firearms in the neighborhood, but citizens were legally allowed to keep guns at home if the Illinois state requirements were met.
In 2012, the Oak Park Board of Health held a townhall meeting urging residents to help lend a voice on the gun discussion claiming it was a health issue in the township. The Illinois State Riffle Association launched a message asking their members to attend the meeting by claiming that Oak Park was attempting to “launch a whole new attack on your right to keep and bear arms.”
Efforts to get a comment from the Illinois State Riffle Association were unsuccessful. Andrew said, “This referendum was like a survey to see how residents of Oak Park feel about a certain topic. It’s mostly a symbolic vote without legislative weight.”
canojose@my.dom.edu
