november 1999
page 3
illinois lawsuit targets gun buyback programs
libertarian says sheriff breaks the law
In a surprising turnaround, a Libertarian in Illinois has sued a local sheriff for sponsoring
a gun buy-back program arguing that it violates federal firearms laws.
On September 16, Matt Beauchamp, chairman of the Chicago LP, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court accusing Cook County Sheriff Michael F. Sheahan of illegal gun trafficking as part of the so-called Safe Streets/Safe Schools 2000 gun buy-back program.
Specifically, the lawsuit charges that Sheahan is purchasing firearms without the required, federal firearms license. It also claims the sheriff is violating the law by accepting weapons without asking for identification which makes it easy for felons to sell stolen guns.
Watchdogs of justice
"These people are supposed to uphold the law, not act above it," said Beauchamp. "If the so called watchdogs of justice exhibit such blatant disregard for their own laws, who are they beholden to? Who watches the watchers? In the coming weeks, the courts will decide just that question."
Beauchamp also charged that buy-back programs do not reduce crime, but may actually give money to criminals to upgrade their weapons.
No evidence
The "program [is] a sham and a waste of $100,000 in taxpayer funds," he said. "There is' no evidence that these programs have even the slightest effect on crime."
The lawsuit seeks a court order to halt the three-week-old buy-back program, which has already collected over 3,000 weapons including an AK-47 assault rifle and an Uzi submachine gun - in exchange for $50 in cash or $75 gift certificates.
The lawsuit won the support of Conceal Carry, Inc., a nonpartisan organization that lob
See GUN BUYBACK Page 13 bies for the right to carry concealed weapons.
"Gun buy-back programs cost the citizens of Cook County thousands of dollars, do not reduce crime, and only give money to those selling junk guns the cash they need to buy a real gun," said Conceal Carry, Inc. founder John Birch [no relation to the conservative political organization of the same name]. "The sheriff's gun buy-back is good politics but bad public policy, especially in that many of the poor may lose the only real protection they have."
Firm legal ground
A spokesman for the sheriff's office said there is little concern about the lawsuit, arguing that the buy-back program is "on firm legal ground." And a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), said government entities are exempt from the federal Gun Control Act.
But Beauchamp said the lawsuit demonstrates that the Libertarian Party is "ever vigilant to the right of the people to bear arms in the cause of their own selfdefense.
"The days of politicians posturing about gun control as a way to cover up their own failings in law enforcement - and subsequently failing to reduce violence in society - are over," he said. "Felons should not be remunerated by illegal gun buybacks sponsored by politicians."
The lawsuit has already earned the Chicago LP publicity on CLTV and WBBM radio, and a story in the Chicago Sun-Times.