The number of national background check in April was 3,514,070. Illinois accounts for 890,000 of those. Background checks are run every night on FOID card holders, and another separate check is run of ICCL holders. The number of people wanting to become firearm owners is still increasing. I recently did an interview on the causes for the increased desire to own a firearm. If you look around and simply watch what is happening all around us, those reasons become obvious.
The push for more gun control is an easy out for politicians who won’t or can’t face the truth. They are, of course, aided by the anti-gun crowd and supported by the national news media. The anti-gun side is a tool of the left wing who wants total control of everything. They can’t get it if there is a large armed citizenry who might rise up against them. The Second Amendment is one of the main reasons left wing Democrats want to pack the Supreme Court. They not only want to destroy the Second Amendment, but everything in the Bill of Rights. These people are a formidable enemy and can’t be minimized or discounted in any way. The level of their power is rising, and it is already impossible to stand against them alone. I urge all of you to join pro-gun groups like the ISRA.
Federal Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale has dismissed the National Rifle Association’s bankruptcy case. The judge ruled the case was not filed in good faith. He did not dismiss the case with prejudice which means the case can come back in some form. This opens the door for Letitia James, New York Attorney General, to pursue the case. Reuters News reports the Biden Administration pressured Judge Hale to dismiss the case. I am sure that is no surprise to anyone but still it is a blow to Second Amendment advocates. There is nothing that would make Joe Biden happier than to damage the NRA.
There is no doubt the NRA and its five million members will fight on. The New York lawsuit is distracting and makes the job of the NRA harder and damages its membership and fundraising efforts. The annual budget for the NRA is 300 million dollars a year. It sounds like a lot but considering all the things they do, I understand it.
I am sure many of you have been noticing pro Second Amendment ads on national television. Those ads are being produced and paid for by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA). The SAF is a 501c3 organization and the CCRKBA is a 501c4 organization. The ISRA frequently works together on lawsuits and other projects with both organizations. I recommend both organizations.
The ISRA lawsuits are still in the waiting mode. Our work is completed now and we have to wait for the courts or others to respond before we can move forward. We are fundraising for the ISRA Legal Assistance Committee (ISRA-LAC) to carry these lawsuits forward.
If you have gotten a stimulus check or a return on your income taxes, the ISRA-LAC would be a good place to put some of it. The address is ISRA-LAC, PO Box 494, Chatsworth, IL 60921.
My seemingly eternal quest for ammunition had disappointing results this week. Clerks in sporting goods stores and gun shops tell me that some people come in everyday looking for ammunition and if they find it, they buy it. Most of us cannot make these daily rounds. Still, ammo is loosening up but it is not cheap. Keep trying.
Three U. S. soldiers stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, have been arrested for purchasing and reselling firearms to street gangs and others on Chicago’s south side. The three soldiers, Demarcus Adams, Juris Brunson, and Brandon Miller purchased 91 firearms in Kentucky and Tennessee. The United States Attorney has charged them with making false statements during the purchase of a firearm, engaging in firearms business without an FFL, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit Title 18 offenses. This is a federal case so it is unlikely they will just get a slap on the wrist and walk. This was a criminal enterprise so laws making it tough on law-abiding citizens would have no effect in stopping any of this. That’s just a hint lawmakers!
Of course, the big news is still the Vivian Brown case. Just to refresh everyone, White County Circuit Judge T. Scott Webb ruled the FOID Card unconstitutional in the home. This is not a blanket rejection of the FOID card, but it certainly puts a good-sized dent in it. Judge Webb rightly points out that no one in Illinois has Second Amendment Rights until they pay $10 and receive their FOID card. It has long been thought by myself and many, many others that if Poll Tax of $2.00 and sales tax of pennies on a newspaper is unconstitutional why isn’t a $10 fee for a FOID Card unconstitutional? The anti-gun side always claims the Second Amendment is different. That is not true; they only want to convince people that it is different. I don’t know when the Illinois Supreme Court will hear the Brown case. I do know this case is likely to go the Supreme Court of the United States. This ride is just beginning.
The ISRA case regarding the failure of the ISP to issue new FOID cards within the statutory time limits is still waiting for a court date for oral arguments.
The ISRA case for failing to issue ICCLs in a timely manner is waiting for a reply from the Illinois State Police. As always, we will keep you informed.
British military journalist Sir Max Hugh McDonald Hastings does not like our Second Amendment or our AR15 rifle. He doesn’t think American citizens should own them. Hastings has the typical British “I’ve been in the military and therefore I know everything attitude”. So, Sir Max, I assume that you remember the outcomes of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. American citizen marksmen were proficient in firearms and shot the pants off British troops. Please recall we bailed you out of WWI and WWII. By the way, Great Britain still has not yet paid its debt from the loans of WWI or WWII. I expect the check is in the mail. American gun owners sent rifles to Great Britain because they did not have enough arms to defend their island. Some of those arms came home but those that stayed in Great Britain, you destroyed.
Fortunately, not all British are like Sir Max Hugh McDonald Hastings. Before the turn of the century in 2000, I was attending the National Matches every year in Camp Perry, Ohio. Camp Perry is always hot it seems. In the evenings, competitors, coaches, staff and others would go down to a large ice cream stand in Port Clinton, Ohio. One evening, I saw two couples who came over from Great Britain to see the National Matches. I had met them earlier that day or the day before. I walked over to talk to them. I asked what they thought. One of them replied, “We are going back to Great Britain and apply to become United States citizens. This is wonderful.”
Well, Sir Max, I don’t think you understand Americans or half of the people in your country. You don’t know how much Americans love their AR15s and other firearms. One thing you might think about is that there are more gun owners in the United States than you have people in your country.
Remember Mark and Patricia McCloskey? They are the couple from St. Louis who had the audacity to defend their home from rioters who broke their front gate down. Their trial is set to begin in November. I don’t see how they can get a fair trial in the left wing infested St. Louis County. A special prosecutor has been appointed. At least that is better than Kimberly Gardner, the St. Louis County prosecutor. Gardiner was re-elected thanks to lots of help from anti-gun people like Bloomberg and others. Maybe they ought to hold the trial at the St. Louis Zoo where a lot of kangaroos live.
Governor Pritzker has announced the World Shooting Complex in Sparta, Illinois, will become a Covid-19 vaccination site. If you go there and get vaccinated, you will receive 100 rounds of trap, skeet or sporting clays at no charge any time before the end of October. Of course, I just got my second shot – story of my life.
Reminder: Massad Ayoob’s MAG-40 Class will be held at our range on June 10-13. We offer a 10% discount to ISRA members for this course. To register, contact Andy Kemp at 208.771.3413 or email andy1911@imaxmail.net.
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