Executive Directors Message
Richard Pearson
When the sun came up over Illinois on Wednesday morning everything looked the same as it did on Tuesday morning, but it was not the same. Governor Pritzker had signed into law a draconian bill that squashes the rights of 2.4 million plus law-abiding firearm owners in Illinois. The boot heel of government has been placed squarely on the neck of freedom loving Illinois citizens. The rights of people who have done nothing wrong have been trampled.
Gun owners have 300 days to comply with the law. There are rules that have to be followed but they are not done yet. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking as the law-abiding gun owners come ever closer to being criminals. Each day our freedom is being diminished. Following is the link to Public Act 102-1116:
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=102-1116
This Illinois State Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the Firearm Policy Coalition have partnered to sue the State of Illinois. The goal is to declare this disgusting law that has been precipitated on lawful gun owners of Illinois unconstitutional. All of this, of course, takes money and membership. Please join the ISRA and donate to the Legal Assistance Committee (ISRA-LAC). We will fight and do whatever it takes. https://isra.org/support-us/
As irked as I am at the General Assembly, I want you to know that there are some of these members who stood up to the pressure and voted “No” on HB5471. We have pictures of the tote board on our website. They are the ones in red. This includes both Democrats and Republicans. They were true to their oath of office and their pledge to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Two standouts among the Democrats were Senators Doris Tuner and Patrick Joyce. Remember who those people are.
I have been receiving copies of letters sent out from various county sheriffs telling the citizens of their county that HB5471 is a violation of their constitutional rights and that they will not be enforcing the law solely for noncompliance with this Act. The Illinois State Police can’t take a stand like the sheriffs because they work for the Governor.
The government would like to dumb us down until we become a herd of sheep to be shepherded bureaucrats. We will be allowed to do safe things like play shuffleboard and bingo. It turns out bingo isn’t so safe after all. In Florida, two women got into an altercation with a man outside a bingo parlor. The women then went into the bingo parlor for a rousing game of bingo and the guy entered the bingo parlor with a gun after the women. A couple of armed good Samaritans interceded, and the suspect was held until police arrived. Surprisingly, the police found a bag of crystal meth and a knife in the suspect’s vehicle. Meth makes people paranoid and crazy. Who was one of the world’s most famous meth users? Adolf Hitler.
In Des Moines, Iowa, an armed mom prevented her kids from being taken. A pair of miscreants had been hanging around a skywalk at an apartment complex. The Manager, Shay Lindberg, opened the door to ask if there was a problem. She had her two children with her. When she opened the door, one of the troublemakers grabbed one of her children. Lindberg went in to action, drew her pistol, and said, “Let go of my kid.” Wisely, they did. Lindberg held them until security arrived. The pair were arrested and charged with child stealing. In Iowa, this is a class C felony which will get you 10 years in the clink. My guess is that the good folks in Iowa aren’t as understanding of criminals as we are in Illinois.
The Winter Wars XIX event that was scheduled for January 17th, has been rescheduled to February 11th, 2023, at the ISRA Range. This is a fun match for military surplus rifles, shot at 200 yards from the prone position on a military head and shoulders silhouette (the so-called Sitting Dog target).
Tidbits:
January 14, 1777 – We see the name Mercer in both county and street names, but no one knows everything about who Mercer was. Most, maybe not all, were named in honor of Brigadier General Hugh Mercer of Revolutionary War fame. General Mercer died from wounds received in the Battle of Princeton. He was bayoneted seven times.
Hugh Mercer was Scottish. He studied medicine at the University of Aberdeen. While there, the Scots rose up against Britain. Mercer was an assistant surgeon on the Scottish side. The Scots were defeated. Mercer escaped the British Isles and made it to America. He enlisted with his old adversaries, the British, in the Seven Years War. After the Seven Years War, he opened up an apothecary in Fredericksburg, Virginia. When the Revolutionary War broke out, he immediately raised a group of militias and was appointed its captain. Mercer’s leadership and experience was noticed and he rose quickly to Lt. Colonel, then to Colonel, and upon Washington’s request, to Brigadier General. Under his command was James Madison, future president, and John Marshall the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He as a most able General.
January 15, 1777 – Vermont declares independence from the State of New York (talk about a great idea). Those folks lucked out and escaped the clutches of Albany. The United States did not recognize Vermont as a separate state for two years after the United States had elected George Washington as President. What may have convinced Congress is the Vermonters applied for readmission to the British Empire. I don’t blame them, anything would be better than being part of New York, well, maybe Illinois. Vermont became the 14th state.
January 17, 1966 – A K -135 tanker hits a B-52 bomber over the Mediterranean Sea near Spain. The B-52 and the KC-135 went down. All were killed aboard the tanker and three of the seven aboard the B-52 parachuted to safety. The bomber was carrying four 70 kiloton hydrogen bombs. One bomb fell into the sea the other three scattered in southeast Spain. One explosive charge blew up but none of the bombs were armed so there was no hydrogen bomb explosion. Oops, I hate that when that happens.
January 18, 1803 – Thomas Jefferson asks for funding for the Lewis & Clark Expedition. He requested $2500, about the same price as coffee and donuts for six costs in Washington D.C. today. Actually, the cost ended up being a lot more than anyone bargained for, $50,000 or so. It seems the swamp already had its slimy hooks in the government.
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Visit www.isra.org
Upcoming Events:
Sunday, January 15, 2023
ISRA Academy NRA Range Safety Officer Class
Tuesday, January 17 & 24, 2023
Air Gun Practice
Wednesday, January 18 & 25, 2023
Pellet Rifle League
Thursday, January 19 & 26, 2023
Women’s Pistol Team Practice
Saturday, January 21 & 22, 2023
NRA Pistol Instructor Class
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Armed Women of America
Gun & Trade Shows
Belleville Gun & Knife Show – Belleville, IL
Belle-Clair Fairgrounds
Dates: January 14 & 15, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00
Crown Point Gun Show – Crown Point, IN
Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: January 14 & 15, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00
McHenry County Gun Show – Woodstock, IL
McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: January 15, 2023
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:00
Admission: $5.00
Northern IL Outdoor Sports Show – Grayslake, IL
Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: January 19 & 20, 2023
Hours: Thursday & Friday: 12:00-8:00
Saturday & Sunday: 10:00-5:00
Admission: $10.00
Bloomington Hunting, Trade & Gun Show – Bloomington, IL
Interstate Center
Dates: January 21 & 22, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $7.00
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
Sauk Trail Gun Show – Princeton, IL
Bureau County Fairgrounds
Dates: January 28 & 29, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-4:00
Sunday: 8:30-3:00
Admission: $5.00
Lake County Gun & Sportsman Show – Antioch, IL
Antioch VFW
Date: January 29, 2023
Hours: Sunday: 8:00-1:00
Admission: $7.00
