Executive Directors Message
Richard Pearson
It is hard to believe that this will be the last Thursday Bulletin (TB) of 2022. Each year, the Thursday Bulletins total around 95,000 to 100,000 words. I want to thank all of those who read the TB and for all your comments. I know my twist on various happenings may irritate some but that is ok. I call them the way I see them.
One of the funnier things that happened last week occurred in South Carolina. A perpetrator had an order of protection against him from a young girl. This nitwit goes to her home and tries to break in. He is met by the girl’s uncle and brother who pistol whipped and chased him out of the house. This dude ran down the road trying to get into other people’s homes saying someone is trying to kill him. Finally at the end of the road, he jumps a security fence and breaks into the last house on that road. As luck would have it, that house belonged to World Wrestling champion “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. Hacksaw is retired but when he was wrestling, he weighed in at 271 pounds and was 6’3”. He was noted for picking up his opponents no matter what their size and throwing them out of the ring, which is exactly what he did to the perp, except he landed on the front porch. Hacksaw spread eagled him and held him with the help of his trusty “Dirty Harry” .44 magnum. The police arrived and carted the perp off to the jailhouse. Another happy ending.
What will 2023 be like for gun owners in Illinois? It will come as no surprise that we will face the most intense wide-ranging attacks on the rights of law-abiding gun owners we have ever experienced. The proposals that the anti-gun side is attempting, and may pass, is patently unconstitutional but they don’t care. Make no mistake, for them, crime is just a thinly veiled excuse. Their real targets are the Second Amendment, private gun ownership of law-abiding citizens, the right of self-defense including concealed carry, the shooting sports and hunting. Sometimes they say that they support the Second Amendment but in actuality, they don’t. In fact, their long-term goal is the repeal of the Second Amendment.
My question is with 2.5 million law-abiding gun owners and about 450,000 concealed carry licenses in the state of Illinois, why aren’t more people members of the Illinois State Rifle Association? If they were members, we wouldn’t be facing the problems we are facing now. It is kind of like buying a new speed boat and saving money by not buying the drain plug. I got a call once from a guy wanting to know where to shoot his brand new AR15. He was very proud of the how good it was and that he had spent $1500 on the gun. At the end of the conversation, I asked him if he was a member. He asked the cost which for him was $30. He promptly told me he couldn’t afford it. That was two percent of the cost of the AR. That is why we are in the trouble we are in now. Ridiculous.
I am asking every member to recruit a new member. The enemy is at the gates. How hard is it anyway? It is like no one wants the police around until they need help. Then it is a whole different story.
The Second Amendment Foundation has an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit brought by Junior Sports Magazines against the State of California. Junior Sports Magazines publishes a magazine entitled Junior Shooting. The State of California passed a law which prohibits “advertising, or marketing, communication concerning any firearm related product in a manner that is designed, intended or reasonably appears to be attractive to minors”.
Obviously Junior Sports accepts ads from firearm and ammunition manufacturers. The magazine promotes junior shooting sports. For those who do not know, the shooting sports are ideal for young people. First of all, an average kid can be successful at participating in shooting. You don’t have to be a giant, the fastest runner or weigh 350 pounds to do it. Shooting sports teaches young people discipline, concentration, sportsmanship, responsibility, and promotes self-esteem, while learning marksmanship.
Kids in the shooting sports are well mannered, polite, and responsible. They are a pleasure to be around.
So, what is the problem? The problem is the anti-gunners don’t want anyone to own or enjoy firearms. It is not that they don’t understand, it is that they don’t want to understand. The saying that applies to these people is “None are so blind as those who will not see.”
I applaud all those suing the State of California for violating the First Amendment. I thank the Second Amendment Foundation for their support with the amicus brief. The case is in the Nutty Ninth Circuit. The case is known as Junior Sports Magazines et. al v. Bonita. Bonita is the California Attorney General and is named in his capacity as such.
Here in Illinois, the lawsuit trying to overturn the prohibition against licensed concealed carry holders from carrying on public transit is in the United States Court for the Northern District of Illinois Western Division. The case is known as Schoenthal et. al v. Raoul. This case is being supported by the Illinois State Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, and Firearm Policy Coalition.
The Illinois General Assembly will reconvene on Tuesday, January 4th. This is the beginning of Lame Duck Session. Lame Duck Session will continue January 4th,6th,7th ,10thand until approximately noon on January 11th. At that time, the 102nd General Assembly will end. The new Senators and Representatives will be inaugurated and the 103rd General Assembly will begin. All bills presented in the 102nd General Assembly will die. That means if HB5855 is not passed, it will also die. Actually, nothing ever dies legislatively in Springfield. HB5855 will be reincarnated as a new bill with a new number and will be out there again. I am sure we will see parts of HB5855 separated into several new bills, all which will still be unconstitutional and all of which we will challenge in court.
The ISRA will be there fighting for your gun rights and freedoms every step of the way. If anything does pass that is unconstitutional, we will fight all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Period.
Tidbits:
December 29, 1845 – Texas is admitted in the Union as the 28th state. Texas is the second largest state after Alaska. Texas could have been bigger but about 104,000 square miles of West Texas was sold off to pay debts. That section is now part of New Mexico. The area of Texas is 268,596 square miles. There were two Presidents of the United States born in Texas and neither one was the Bushes. One was Dwight D. Eisenhower and the other was Lyndon B. Johnson.
The addition of Texas to the Union precipitated the Mexican War which suited the “Manifest Destiny“ mood of the country. Manifest Destiny is the belief that the United States should stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The Mexican War largely accomplished that.
December 30, 1922 – The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is founded. Most people think that happened in 1917 but it did not. The communist takeover of Russia is a prime example of tyranny of the minority over the majority. The tactics used by the communists are similar to the ones used by the left in the United States today. The U.S.S.R. collapsed in 1991. Vladimir Putin still hasn’t gotten over it.
December 31, 1879 – Thomas Edison demonstrates the light bulb to the public. Excitement swept the country. The Pennsylvania Railroad ran special trains to Menlo Park, New Jersey, where Edison’s laboratory was located. Edison tried 4004 different filaments before he got the right one. He did not view those experiments as failures. He said something to the effect that we now know 4004 things that don’t work. Edison also invented the phonograph, experimented with motion pictures, and all kinds of other items. His most important idea was the electric grid system which we use today. When Edison died, he held 1093 patents.
45 B.C. – The Julian Calendar takes effect on January 1. The old Roman calendar had been around since about 700 B.C. The new calendar was much better, but it did not take into account the fact that each year is really 365.24199 days long.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar. The purpose was to make up almost one quarter of a day that was unaccounted for every year. To make up for this, ten days were omitted from the first year to get the calendar back on schedule. Thereafter, every fourth year would contain an extra day which became known as Leap Year. I know you will all be thinking about this tidbit after your 10th glass of champagne on New Year’s Eve.
January 4, 1847 – Samuel Colt receives a government contract for 1000 Colt revolvers. This model became known as the Colt Walker. Colt enlisted the help of Eli Whitney in the mass production and finishing the revolver. The Colt Walker had a range of 100 yards and could kill a horse at that distance with a properly placed shot. The Colt Walker was the most powerful mass-produced repeating handgun until the .357 magnum came along in 1935. The Colt Walker used 60 grains of black powder and could shoot a .454 caliber 141 grain ball at 1350 feet per second. Poor metallurgy at the time couldn’t always hold the pressure generated by 60 grains of black powder so occasionally cylinders would rupture, or all six chambers would go off at once. Future Colt .44s had their cylinders shortened so 50 grains of black powder was the maximum load. If you find a Colt Walker, be careful because it is most likely a fake. Have it checked by someone other than the seller’s brother-in-law.
Thanks for being a member. If you are not an ISRA member, please join today!
Visit www.isra.org
Upcoming Events:
Thursday, December 29, 2022
Women’s Pistol Team Practice
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Armed Women of America
Tuesday, January 3 & 10, 2023
Air Gun Practice
Wednesday, January 4 & 11, 2023
Pellet Rifle League
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Range Work Day
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Winter Wars XIX
Sunday, January 15, 2023
ISRA Academy NRA Range Safety Officer Class
Saturday, January 21, 2023
NRA Pistol Instructor Class
Sunday, January 22, 2023
NRA Pistol Instructor Class
Gun & Trade Shows
Kane County Sportsman’s Show – St Charles, IL
Kane County Fairgrounds
Date: January 8, 2023
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:30
Admission: $7.00
McHenry County Gun Show – Woodstock, IL
McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: January 15, 2023
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:00
Admission: $5.00
Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show – Kankakee, IL
Kankakee County Fairgrounds
Dates: January 21 & 22, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-3:00
Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00
