Oak Park plans gun forum at village hall

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Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 10:00 PM

Updated: Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 2:20 PM

By Marty Stempniak

Staff Reporter

Any Oak Parkers who want to have a say on how the village regulates guns in the future will get their chance later this month.

The Oak Park Board of Health, a citizens advisory panel, is hosting a forum on Jan. 24 to gather input from residents on guns. Oak Park's decades-long handgun ban was struck down by the Supreme Court in mid-2010, and a gun store recently opened in the village, making the timing right for a community conversation.

"We want to hear from citizens about their thoughts and ideas as to how firearms should be regulated in the village of Oak Park," said Margaret Provost-Fyfe.

A couple of years ago, the health board came up with a list of possible actions that the community could take in the event that the handgun was banned. And with the recent opening of Windy City Firearms on Roosevelt Road, village trustees asked the health board to host the forum to start the ball rolling toward possible action.

The Jan. 24 meeting starts at 7 p.m. at village hall, 123 Madison St. There, participants will each have three minutes to speak. The health board will then draft recommendations and forward them to the board for future discussion at an undetermined date.

Village President David Pope said he's anxious to hear what might be suggested.

"I think we're all going to look forward to what comes back from the board of health in determining what steps, if any, should be pursued at that point," Pope said.

Following the June 2010 ruling, Oak Park tweaked its handgun ban, allowing people to carry firearms in their place of business or home, while still prohibiting assault weapons.

Some ideas from the health board's 2010 report included starting a handgun registry, holding safety courses and requiring owners to securely store their handguns. Oak Park may also explore zoning regulations related to gun stores, according to Simone Boutet, the acting village attorney.

David Schweig, a 75-year-old Oak Parker who fought the village's handgun ban in the 1980s, hopes that forum is balanced and fair.

Reader Comments

17 Comments - Add Your Comment

Comment Policy

Molon Labe

Posted: Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 10:56 PM

"Take the guns away and people can not kill with guns. " Come and take them.

Please give it a rest Gunz

Posted: Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 3:19 PM

"Take the guns away and people can not kill with guns. Thats it." That's why we think you're an idealist. You're not ranting against murder but against murder via guns. I had relatives murdered in at least 2 separate incidences, one including a gun, and the other not. The most horrific of the 2 was the 1 where no gun was used & it has not eased anything for us. They are still dead. They were still killed & in fact in a more gruesome way than with a gun. It is no comfort it wasn't by a gun.

GUNZ KILL

Posted: Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 11:46 PM

Authorities say a man murdered his girlfriend and three others, set the house on fire and, about six hours later, killed himself at his parents' home in south suburban Dolton.The brother of a Cook County Judge fatally shot his sister and her husband Friday night

GUNZ KILL

Posted: Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 1:58 PM

Take the guns away and people can not kill with guns. Thats it.

Silly Peoples Killz

Posted: Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 12:55 PM

People kill, they are much more efficient at doing so with guns. Are try throwing a bullet at someone...not a good idea, it just makes them mad.

Tom from Oak Park

Posted: Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 12:07 PM

I Can guarantee you if Oak Park try's to pass any laws trying to restrict guns the very next day there will be a lawsuit filed by the NRA with someone in Oak Park. Pope is just trying to pander to the two dozen people like you Gunz, the rest of the people in this town could care less either way. FOUR WORDS: SHALL. NOT. BE. INFRINGED.

GUNZ KILL

Posted: Monday, January 16th, 2012 11:56 PM

Man shot in chest in Chicago Lawn Updated 7:45 p.m., 2-year-old Gary girl who was shot in head dies - 8 hours ago. SHE WAS PLAYING WITH A GUN!!!!

GUNZ KILL

Posted: Monday, January 16th, 2012 5:44 PM

Jan 24th. Dont forget

And The Dundie Award For Most Obnoxious Poster Goes To...

Posted: Monday, January 16th, 2012 5:11 PM

...GUNZ KILL.

GUNZ KILL

Posted: Monday, January 16th, 2012 4:36 PM

I bet for every TV that Kills someone, about 10,000 people die from a gun, if not more!

TeeVeeZ KILL

Posted: Monday, January 16th, 2012 4:29 PM

Three children have died recently from TVs falling on them in their homes. Guess we should ban TVs too.

GUNZ KILL

Posted: Monday, January 16th, 2012 4:09 PM

4 dead, including 2 children, in Fresno, Calif., shooting spree Updated 1:00 p.m.

Brian Slowiak from Oak Park

Posted: Thursday, January 12th, 2012 3:07 PM

To Tom: The nuclear weapons ban was for nations that did not possess nuclear weapons.The nations that did have weapons remained in possession of their nuclear weapons,thereby holding on to a determent, The gun ban disarmed the citizen, not the criminal.

Tom from River Forest

Posted: Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 2:55 PM

@Chuck: Unless I missed a pretty big boom, I think that the nuclear weapons ban has worked to perfection over the past 25 years.

CARZ KILL

Posted: Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 2:52 PM

Let's get rid of cars as they kill more people than guns do...oh, I see we are already trying to do that...Looking forward to adding Mandatory Concealed Carry in Oak Park!

Chuck Kuecker

Posted: Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 4:55 AM

It will take some time yet, but I see the day coming when people realize that inanimate objects are not the problem - it's evil people who cause criminal violence, and preventing good folks from defending themselves is worse than useless. Does Oak Park still have a ban on nuclear weapons? How's that been working out for you?

GUNZ KILL

Posted: Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 11:32 PM

Look forward to limiting as much as possible any types of guns in Oak Park.

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