Anti-Gun Chicago Legislator Charged With Felony Gun Offense

State Sen. Donne Trotter after being released from a police lock-up (Chicago Tribune photo)

 

This should come as no surprise. A liberal Democratic state senator from Chicago who wants to limit other citizens' Second Amendment rights is caught trying to board a plane at O'Hare Airport with a loaded handgun. Sen. Donne Trotter, who is one of many seeking election to the congressional seat just vacated by Jesse Jackson, Jr., was preparing to board a plane from Chicago to Washington when TSA agents spotted a .25 caliber Beretta handgun in his garment bag. Trotter was charged with a felony under Illinois law and released from jail after posting a $25,000 bond. Do congressional candidates now need to be armed when they head to Washington to troll for campaign contributions?

Trotter as a state senator not only supported the state law he is accused of violating and against allowing Illinoisans to carry concealed weapons, but he also voted to elevate it a from a misdemeanor to a felony offense, along with his support of other anti-gun measures. "What you're doing here [is] just basically creating part-time police officers who have not gone through the extensive training, who have not had the psychological evaluations, who will be getting out there who feel now that they're--they are stronger, they are badder, they are tougher because they have this nine-shooter on their hip," Trotter said in opposition to concealed carry legislation. That all might make it a little more difficult for him to claim he didn't know about the law. Cook Co. State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who has had her share of controversy recently, will have a tough time letting Trotter walk on the charge. She just charged a flight attendant with a felony offense after she tried to board a plane with a loaded .22 caliber handgun owned by her husband, who had inadvertently left it in her bag without her knowledge.