An Oak Park college professor is taking gun safety to the polls with an advisory referendum that will seek support in repealing the Second Amendment.
The referendum, which is non-binding, will look like this on Oak Park residents’ ballots:
Shall the Constitution of the United States be amended as follows? The second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is repealed. The United States Congress shall regulate the licensing and use of arms.
Piergiorgio “George” Uslenghi, the man behind the question, told the Chicago Tribune he backs the referendum due to safety concerns for his family and students at UIC. He’s a migrant from Italy and left his home country in 1961.
"I became very concerned over the last few years at the rate of murders that have been going on because of handguns and firearms," Uslenghi said to the Tribune. "The original intent of the Second Amendment was really to protect ourselves from tyranny. That was 200 years ago. No civilized nation allows citizens to carry loaded pistols in their pockets."
In his perfect world, the Second Amendment would be abolished and Congress would begin a discussion about how to regulate gun control safely. However, Uslenghi said he’s not completely against the idea of leaving the amendment as-is.
"I'm not against the reasonable use of firearms," he said. "I don't object to hunters having firearms. I'm also not against people having a pistol by the side of their bed. I object to people walking around with a loaded gun in their pocket."
Uslenghi had to collect 15 signatures of registered Oak Park voters to the county clerk to get his referendum on the ballot. He said that, more than anything, he noticed skepticism, not criticism, when collecting signatures.
"The only criticism I've gotten is that it may take 200 years to change," Uslenghi said. "But remember, a big sequoia tree starts from the smallest seed. Oak Park is a very enlightened community, and I think it is a reasonable place to start this civilized conversation about limiting the use of firearms."
Have any questions about this referendum? Let us know in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer them for you.
Image via Shutterstock.
