Senate candidate wants Americans to defend themselves
By MIKE RAMSEY
"I think instead of being afraid of defending ourselves, we would do well to follow a course of action that re-educated our people in the means of their self-defense," the staunch conservative Republican said at a Chicago news conference. "And it would, by
the way, provide an armed citizenry that would make terrorists think twice and three times before they dared to threaten our people."
The former presidential candidate from Maryland was joined by state Sen. Ed Petka, R-Plainfield, in chiding state Sen. Barack Obama, the Chicago Democrat running against Keyes, for not supporting legislation aimed at exonerating home owners who shoot intruders in defiance of local handgun bans. The self-defense measure passed the General Assembly this spring but was vetoed last week by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Petka sponsored Senate Bill 2165 after a Wilmette man shot a home invader and faced prosecution for breaking the community's anti-handgun ordinance.
"Sen. Obama was one of those who voted 'no' on this legislation and once again demonstrated for all the world exactly what he is - a liberal, a very liberal Democrat," said Petka, who vowed to seek an override of Blagoejvich's veto in the fall legislative session.
Keyes dismissed the notion that residents, rather than arm themselves, should rely on authorities to protect them.
"The police don't exist to protect each and every citizen in each and every circumstance," he said. "They are, as the name implies, enforcers of the law, guardians of the law. Sad to say, their main role in life is to show up after the crime has been committed and make sure the malefactor is identified and apprehended."
Robert Gibbs, a spokesman for Obama, issued a written statement that characterized Petka's legislation as "an attempt to override the right of individual communities to enact their own laws, as Wilmette did in 1989."
"Throughout his eight years in the state Senate and as a member of the Judiciary Committee, Barack Obama has worked tirelessly to protect Illinois' communities, while recognizing the legitimate rights of sportsmen," Gibbs added.
The Keyes news conference turned into a broader showcase for the outspoken Republican's opposition to gun controls. The 54-year-old Keyes, a Harvard-educated author and lecturer who owns two handguns, insisted the Second Amendment allows citizens to carry concealed weapons if they are properly trained. Illinois lawmakers have rejected such an idea for this state.
"I think it has been proven empirically that 'concealed-carry' laws - allowing law-abiding citizens this access to conceal-carry - actually reduces crime," Keyes said. "It makes the world more dangerous for crooks."
Keyes said citizens should have access to the more powerful kind of guns carried by U.S. infantry, and he advocated wider gun ownership because the general public is on "the front line of the war against terror."
"I think it would be the best thing for this country if indeed we approach this the same way as we approach owning an automobile and took the steps that were necessary," he said. "You have courses that you can take and other things to reach minimal thresholds so that you can have access to this, that. As you wish to move to a higher threshold, you would take other courses until you could responsibly enter into them."
Gibbs said Obama supports "common sense" gun-control measures, such as the 10-year federal ban on assault weapons that expires next month. Keyes opposes the ban.
Keyes, a former diplomat under President Reagan and onetime television talk-show host, agreed to become the Illinois GOP nominee for Senate earlier this month after candidate Jack Ryan dropped out.
Keyes and Obama, 43, are both African-Americans but have strikingly different political views.
August 27, 2004