I looked at the calendar and was shocked to see how fast Thanksgiving came and went. Now it’s almost Christmas. Somehow when Halloween gets here, it always seems there is plenty of time before the major holidays; then, in a flash, that time is gone. Merry Christmas to all!
The legislative calendar is finally out, and we will have IGOLD on April 6, 2022. The General Assembly schedule will be much different from past years. They will adjourn on April 8, 2022. This is the earliest time that I can remember. There are several factors in this decision to have a shortened session. For one thing, the Illinois Primary Election has been canceled for March and moved to June 28, 2022. Therefore, campaigning for the primary will start later. Added to this is the new legislative map. There is still a court challenge to the new map to be considered. I am not sure all those details are worked out yet. With the primary coming several months later, that means the time to campaign for the General Election is much shorter. All of this is something we have never seen before. Proposed legislation will be interesting. Some of the proposed legislation will be to promote the sitting legislators in their own district which means we might be getting some crazy stuff. More as I get it.
There is another brief due in the Brown case. We are getting closer to a verdict. With the holidays coming up, that will slow things down. I still think it will be January or February of 2022 before we hear anything.
A couple of days ago, I received my long-awaited copy of Stephen P. Halbrook’s new book “The Right to Bear Arms – A Constitutional Right of the People or Privilege of the Ruling Class.” I am only a few pages into the book, but I can tell so far, it is excellent. It is just what the Second Amendment community needs. If you are looking for a gift for someone who loves to learn about the Second Amendment, this book would be the perfect gift. The book is available from Amazon and several other book sellers.
In the United States, legally armed citizens defend themselves every day. Those stories are most often never reported in the media. An acquaintance of mine just attended a workshop for reporters. He was told that most news outlets refuse to publish or air self-defense stories because the news organization has a policy against publishing such stories.
Saturday Nov. 6th afternoon, a 77-year-old retired Chicago Fire Dept Captain was working in his garage when a would-be robber pulled up and tried to rob him. That was his last mistake. The retired Captain, who has both a FOID card and ICCL shot him once in the head and once in the chest. The robber was pronounced dead at the scene.
There are several points here. First, this happened in broad daylight on the intended victim’s own property. Secondly, since the captain was on his own property, he didn’t need an ICCL. It was interesting that the Chicago Tribune reported the firearm status, FOID and ICCL of the intended victim but not the robber, probably an oversight on the Chicago’s Tribunes part. I’m sure the robber was one of those just getting his life together. You know the story, he’s going to get his GED, get into a Chicago Junior College and then on to The University of Edinburg, hoping to become an astrophysicist.
A third point is these crimes are no longer limited to nighttime. They are happening every hour of the day. People are getting carjacked on their way to work in the morning. The lesson here is be prepared all the time.
People have finally realized that the only person they can depend on to protect them, and their loved ones is themselves. The only way to do that is with a firearm. Right now, firearms are becoming increasingly available. The same is true of ammunition but the price is still on the high side. I hate to tell everyone, but I don’t think ammunition is going to go down in price. There are too many shortages of vital materials such as copper, lead, zinc and a variety of other things that go into making ammunition, not to mention transportation costs are going up. If you can find the type of ammunition you need, I would suggest buying it. In past years, you might have purchased 500 or 1000 rounds, now you may only be able to afford 200 or 300 rounds. Your practices must be better planned but it can still be done. Dry firing can also help make up for a lack of ammunition.
These days there are TV shows about people who have become victims. These people were not prepared to defend themselves. They often make stupid mistakes because they were naive or because they were certain it would never happen to them. I am not saying that if you are prepared nothing will happen to you but you and your loved ones will most certainly have a far better chance. These shows often portray the victims as achieving some noble status. That is nonsense, there is nothing noble about being a victim Smith & Wesson has announced they will be kicking Massachusetts to the curb and moving to Tennessee.
Smith & Wesson has been in Massachusetts since 1852 but wacky gun laws and overregulation by know nothing bureaucrats have driven them out. I have noticed that when companies move, it takes them a little while to get going but once they do, they do better than ever.
Many firearm and firearm related companies have moved in recent years.
Here is a list of the ones I know about:
• Les Baer moved from Illinois to Iowa.
• Lewis Machine and Tool moved from Illinois to Iowa.
• Olin Corporation moved some ammunition production to Mississippi and built a new plant in Mississippi.
• Kimber moved from New York to Alabama.
• Remington was broken up and there are plants in Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee.
• Strum Ruger moved out of the Northeast and is now in Arizona and North Carolina.
• American Tactile Imports moved from New York to South Carolina.
• Beretta will move to Tennessee from Maryland.
• Magpul Industries moved from Colorado to Wyoming.
• Weatherby moved from California to Wyoming.
• Stag Arms moved from Connecticut to Wyoming.
• Kahr Arms moved from New York to Pennsylvania.
What we are seeing is a migration of major American firearms and ammunition manufacturers. There are many firearms related companies in North and South Dakota, Missouri, Texas and in the states listed above. I expect many new startup companies to go to those states also. These companies also supply the U.S. Military with firearms and ammunition. NATO countries also buy from some of these U.S. manufacturers. We are talking about billions of dollars being brought into those states both from the U.S. Military and foreign countries. I am glad bone-headed states are losing big time. Barrett Manufacturing, makers of the .50 caliber guns, will not sell to those states where .50s are banned. In fact, the state of California had .50s at Barrett for repair when California passed their 50-caliber ban. Barrett sent them back and would not repair them. That give anyone ideas?
The ISRA Academy will be offering Basic pistol, Rifle and Shotgun classes January 2022. These classes will be available on a quarterly basis and special pricing will be offered to ISRA members. Please check the calendar for the upcoming dates.
As of 11/1/2021:
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Active FOIDs: 2,569,911
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