Not all the news is bad, you know. Just as conservatives bemoan the potential loss of many of their social arguments, they are decisively and quickly winning one of their most popular: legalized firearms.

A couple of Supreme Court victories and a bunch of unbiased social studies later, the most astonishing sign is a growing number of liberal pundits accept firearms are here to stay. For the most part, they are using the same arguments conservatives are! Who know what will follow?

Illinois is the only state in the nation that legally prohibits concealed carry, although there are no shortage of legal ways to keep a firearm near you at most times. In response to this, numerous legislators long ago started an annual drive to legalize concealed carry in the Land of Lincoln, and each year put forth a bill to that effect; each year, its margin of defeat grows ever closer, and last year it was so close that gun control advocates became alarmed. Indeed, the growing expectation is that the Illinois congress will pass it this time.

Our third idiot governor in a row, Patrick Quinn, who continuously takes the wrong position on everything (to the point that many Democrats oppose him as wel) has repeatedly stipulated that he will veto any such bill that comes before him. In response, the prosecutors of a few counties in Illinois announced that they were going to stop prosecuting all cases of concealed carry.

Hey, if you want to be this silly with your M1911, the Czar says go for it. And, it seems, a growing number of liberals will agree. Welcome!

But Czar, you say, you cannot do that! A prosecutor cannot selectively choose to enforce some laws and not others, right? Right! But in Illinois, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart publicly announced he would stop evicting folks from foreclosed properties back in 2008, and was fully backed by the Democratic machine. In other words, in one of those things that Democrats perpetually fail to understand, a precedent was set. Now open wide.

The number of county prosecutors announcing a refusal to prosecute concealed carry cases has about doubled now from the original five. And Governor Quinn is hopping mad about it because when prosecutors start obeying the will of the people instead of the will of the governor, well, shucks. What’s the point of having a weak state constitution and an inept governor to enforce it, then?

The Czar does not enjoy that part of the story, by the way: prosecutors should do their damn job, and if you don’t like your governor, you replace him. Quinn, who is a complete tool—except tools generally have some purpose—was re-elected in 2010. So there you go. Take it up with the voters.

But the part of the story that amuses us is someone else’s reaction: Chicago’s perpetually offensive Father Michael Pfleger. The way-too-unbusy priest sees a television camera and immediately dives in front of it. Now, Pfleger has returned to one of his favorite crusades: gun control. He has been much in the news lately, screaming to anyone that likes attention whores that concealed carry must not pass in Illinois. His argument: has anyone seen how bad gun violence is in Chicago, and you want to make guns more available?

A curious argument indeed. As you likely know, Chicago gun violence is seriously out of control. As of about now, more than 400 people have been killed in Chicago since January, the majority of which are shooting victims.

But hold on: none of those victims appear to have been armed. In fact, it appears that all the gun violence was caused by a few dozen people against hundreds. The problem isn’t widespread—only the victims are.

Second, where is the parallel? 49 states have concealed carry now, most recently was Wisconsin. 49 states are not seeing a massive rise in homicide, including Wisconsin. Indeed, violent crimes that can be resolved by shooting situations are dropping. Indeed, the NRA and others have begun keeping track of shooting solutions (both which end well or end badly for the victim), and the positive news is overwhelming the negative news. Guns work.

Third, what then makes Chicago unique? Well, it resides in Illinois, which prohibits concealed carry (you know, to protect residents from handgun violence). Next, it resides in Cook County which makes defensive handguns outrageously expensive to own and operate (you know, to protect residents from handgun violence). Finally, it is Chicago, which illegally prohibits ownership of handguns (you know, to protect residents from handgun violence). So how are we doing on that protection?

In some respects, getting a firearm in Chicago has never been harder. The weapons in general are heavily taxed, there are no ranges to shoot them, and getting ammunition for them is difficult, and handguns are still, pace Heller, de facto forbidden. Indeed, handguns are for the most part completely unobtainable by a law-abiding person: truly the liberal dream.

But this is a binary topic: you need only look at the homicide rate to see if this is working or not. And it is not. And for Governor Quinn, Fr. Pfleger, or any of the Cook County officials to pretend otherwise is pure fantasy. Your dreams of gun control have come true: just like Mexico, where there is 100% gun control! Homicides are epidemic. It isn’t working.

Meanwhile, in every other area of Illinois where guns are more common—and you can own just about anything you like—crime is also at a record low. Huh.

So while the Chicago-based politicians wax and froth about needing more gun laws, they cannot effectively articulate what more they could possibly want to forbid. And lots of people keep dying. But hey, Chicago—take it to the voters. You elected these chumps, too.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.