Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has once again placed the Democratic Party’s agenda of anti-gun bigotry ahead of the rights of law-abiding citizens to own firearms and defend themselves, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.

“A few days ago, Gov. Blagojevich announced that he would veto all pro-gun legislation that comes to his desk,” said CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron. “That includes any state pre-emption statute or law creating a concealed carry system.

“While calling such legislation ‘dead on arrival,’ makes for a great sound bite,” Waldron continued, “it actually tells law-abiding Illinois residents that they are pretty much ‘dead on arrival’ if they are targeted by violent criminals. Gov. Blagojevich obviously doesn’t trust his own state legislature with the authority to set statewide, uniform firearm standards, and it is abundantly clear that he doesn’t care whether a single Illinois citizen has the means to defend himself or herself from violent crime.”

Waldron noted that the governor’s myopic attitude about firearms and personal protection would be a contributing factor in once again elevating Chicago to the realm of a “murder capitol.” Chicago annually ranks among the most dangerous cities in the nation, yet it has some of the toughest gun laws in America.

“Just who is Rod Blagojevich trying to protect,” Waldron wondered. “Is he trying to make Illinois safer for women, or rapists? Is he trying to be tough on criminals, or is he just trying to create a better working environment for them? Does he truly believe state lawmakers can’t make good decisions, or does he just think Illinois should become a patchwork of fiefdoms run by demagogues like Richard Daley?

“Crime rates in Chicago prove the state gun laws and the city’s own anti-gun ordinances don’t work and never have,” Waldron said. “When a Million Mom March extremist like Annette ‘Flirty’ Stevens even keeps an unlicensed gun in her Springfield home, in violation of state law, it proves that even gun control zealots don’t believe in the laws they support.

“Rod Blagojevich and his philosophy of anti-gun bigotry have overstayed their welcome,” Waldron concluded. “Illinois citizens deserve more from their governor, and right now, they’re getting less than nothing.”