It's election time in Cook County, and once more Chuck's Gun Shop in Riverdale has become a straw man to beat up for one of the candidates for state's attorney.

Larry Suffredin, a lawyer who has served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners since 2002, is riding the anti-handgun horse into this battle, saying "Chuck's Gun Shop and similar stores in suburban Cook County are the source of guns that are used in violent crime throughout Cook County."

My challenge? Prove that Chuck's is selling guns illegally, then close it. Or shut up.

But until and unless that happens, stop using the shop to bolster a lack of ability to put the bad guys away for serious time or ask why people buy drugs in the first place.

Chuck's is located in a high-crime area about a mile from a Chicago Housing Authority project known to be a breeding ground for gangsters and a supermarket for drugs.

Unfortunately for the majority of law-abiding people who live there, they cannot legally have a gun to protect themselves.

A gun bought legally at Chuck's can be stolen or illegally resold. Shutting Chuck's would only drive the problem elsewhere. You think no one from Chicago ever comes to Northwest Indiana to score a gun?

Chicago has probably the toughest gun laws in the nation. No one may own or carry one in the city except law enforcement. There are no gun shops in Chicago.

Chicago experienced a drop in murders last year to its lowest point since 1965. In 2003, it led the nation in homicides -- not per capita, but in raw numbers, outgunning New York City, which has more than three times Chicago's population.

So please save the stats for the baseball season.

Still, Suffredin is right when he says there is too much gun violence in Chicago.

In 2000, the city had 22.1 murders for every 100,000 people. But when the city was at its population peak in 1950, the rate was 7.9 per 100,000.

Maybe it's an increased lack of respect for life. Maybe it's overcrowded prisons. Maybe judges put violators into a revolving door and back out on the streets.

And if they're out on the street doing their business, the least of their worries is a slap on the hand for violating the gun possession law.

The only people who worry are those law-abiding citizens of Chicago who have turned in their guns and are now prisoners in their own homes while those who flout the law rule the streets.

And his proposal, however well-intentioned, does nothing to help them.

The opinions are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at markk@nwitimes.com or (219) 933-4170.