On Wednesday, state Sen. Donne Trotter was arrested for attempting to bring a firearm onto a plane at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
The pro-gun control lawmaker, who represents Chicago’s South Side, was slapped with a felony and spent the night in policy custody following the arrest.
At a hearing Thursday morning, Judge Israel Desierto set Trotter’s bond at $25,000.
The judge also required Trotter to turn over any of the other firearms in his possession.
The gun that Trotter tried to bring on the plane was a .25 caliber Beretta; it was tucked into his carry-on bag. TSA spotted the handgun as he was making his way through a security checkpoint at around 8 PM.
According to Assistant State’s Atty. Lorraine Scaduto, the Beretta was not registered in the city of Chicago as required by municipal ordinance.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Trotter’s attorney, Joshua Herman, posted the $2,500 cash bond required to release him Thursday afternoon.
Neither Trotter nor his attorney commented publicly on the incident. Â They are scheduled to reappear in court next Wednesday.
As noted above, Trotter is not a friend of the gun community.
Although a search for his complete voting record on the issue of guns was unsuccessful, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that in 1995, he voted against a bill that would have allowed Illinoisans the right to carry concealed (obviously we know the fate of that bill).
Two years later, he voted “present” on another bill that would have softened the penalty for those who are caught carrying concealed, bringing the charge down from a felony to a low-grade misdemeanor. This bill was eventually shot down by former Gov. Jim Edgar.
And more recently, in 2007, Trotter voted “yes” on a bill that banned large-capacity magazines.
When Trotter voted against the pro-concealed carry bill in 1995, he made the following argument on the Senate floor:
“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.
Trotter is the third Democratic lawmaker to face criminal charges in recent months.
He joins state Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago), who faces a federal bribery charge, and state Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago), who was indicted last week on federal bank fraud charges, as the Sun-Times reported.
What are your thoughts on Mr. Trotter’s predicament and position on firearms?  Would saying the man is a complete and utter hypocrite be an understatement?
