Union members in Chicago are now intent on carrying guns aboard their buses if members of the civilian public are allowed to do so. And naturally, they want more taxpayer money for their trouble.
The NRA has insisted on concealed-carry laws that would allow the general public to carry guns on public transit; now Amalgamated Transit Union Division 308 President Robert Kelly says such a policy is “outrageous and cannot be allowed.” Chicago Transit Authority President Forrest Claypool agrees, “It would be disastrous to allow passengers to carry concealed weapons on our trains and buses.”
But sensing an opportunity to push for higher pay, Kelly added that if civilians were allowed to carry weapons, CTA employees “should get training and have the same right for protection. We will also need to be paid accordingly since we will have dual jobs as transit workers and police officers.”
The law in Illinois is slated to change radically come mid-June, unless Illinois comes up with a Constitutional law concerning concealed-carry rights. If not, anyone with the ID to purchase a firearm will be able to carry guns. As Chicago mayor says – and as the unions clearly believe – never let a good opportunity to waste taxpayer cash go to waste.