Target practice

The Hound always gets a kick out of people from the big city coming into Lake County, telling us how to do things and protesting law-abiding businesses. Such was the case June 14 when the Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow Push Coalition, along with his followers marched into Lake Barrington for a prayer vigil to appeal to residents to vote the village "gun dry." Fat chance, reverend.

Perhaps Jackson was taking target practice for bigger game, like marching in the neighborhoods of Chicago, where the Coalition's national headquarters is located on East 50th Street. That's where most of the gun deaths are happening among young people and not in Lake Barrington. Odd that gun deaths occur in Chicago when guns are banned in the city, as are gun shops, and gun makers.

Until Jackson's protest, The Hound didn't even know Lake County had a weapons merchant --- D.S. Arms --- making and selling military-style assault rifles, along with handguns. With Rainbow Push on hand, Lake County sheriff's deputies had to protect the D.S. Arms facility.

That, in turn, ticked off Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran who pointed out the obvious to Rev. Jackson: There surely are a lot more alternatives to curbing random acts of violence involving guns than marching on a legitimate business. In fact, Curran pointed out it costs Lake County taxpayers about $5,000 each time Rev. Jackson decides to pray at the altar of the gun maker in Lake Barrington.

The Hound thinks that's $5,000 too much. The sheriff should pull the trigger and send Rainbow Push the bill for bringing out deputies to patrol the area. That might keep gun protests where they belong: Where people are getting shot.

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