Even if voters in Rock Island and Henry County say "yes" adamantly and overwhelmingly to concealed carry on Nov. 6, it will not become the law of the land.
But it will send a loud and clear message to lawmakers in Springfield that voters here believe strongly in the Second Amendment and the right it protects for qualified applicants to carry a weapon.
We support a strictly drawn law granting Illinoisans a right that already is legal in every other state in the union. Only the General Assembly can make it so. State Reps. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, Rich Morthland, R-Cordova, and Don Moffitt, R-Gilson, and state Sen. Mike Jacobs have supported legislation to approve concealed carry. The problem isn't here, however, it's in metro areas, especially Chicago, where politicians have never met a gun restriction they didn't like. Gov. Pat Quinn, too, is dependably anti-gun. That position might be harder to maintain, however, if the Chicago Democrat see what the rest of the state thinks regarding concealed carry.
And if he vetoes a bill creating concealed carry, lawmakers will need a super-majority to overturn it. Successful advisory campaigns here and elsewhere might serve to convince enough fence-sitters to sign onto a carefully crafted measure to protect it should the governor decide to reject it.
If you believe as we do that Illinoisans should have the Constitutional rights guaranteed elsewhere, we recommend Rock Island and Henry County voters say yes.