New legislation reveals real intent of gun control advocates
Recently filed legislation (Floor Amendment #1 to HB 96) is a giant leap toward firearm registration. It also dramatically increases the cost of a FOID card as well as over-complicating the FOID card process well beyond what it already is.
This bill is intended to punish honest gun owners.
Under the guise of a solution to the Aurora shooting, Representative Kathleen Willis (D-77 Northlake) has proposed draconian legislation that is an attack on every gun owner. This proposal, if passed, would destroy personal gun ownership by law-abiding citizens in Illinois, which is the goal of the anti-gunners.
Willis’s bill, HB96 FA1 (Floor Amendment 1) attacks gun owners in several ways. First, it would require every FOID card applicant and FOID card renewal holder, to be fingerprinted. The cost of this would be astronomical, up to $250. Moreover, the applicants would have to pay for their own background investigation. That may be $100 or more. Each applicant would have to go to a fingerprint vendor and have their prints taken electronically.
Second, every applicant, new or renewal, would have to go to an Illinois State Police District office to apply in person. There are only 22 Illinois State Police District Headquarters in the State. Even if anyone in their right mind wanted to do it that way, it would mean every district headquarters would have to do 87 per day. Where would everyone park, where would they sit; what space would they use; what about restrooms? None of those things exist. Staffing would be a nightmare. The applicants themselves would have to travel miles. What if you didn’t have transportation and were handicapped?
By now, you are probably thinking why am I explaining all of this if you are going to refuse to do it anyway? Because I want you to understand how poorly all of this is/was thought out. These anti-gunners claim they care. They don’t. They also want to attack every gun owner. Every gun owner needs to understand they are the target. All the talk about crime control is just a ruse.
This bill also mandates that every firearm sold or transferred must go through a dealer which would create a de facto firearm registry. You also can’t loan a firearm to anyone else for hunting or recreational shooting. There are other little gems in HB 96 FA 1. This bill exposes where the anti-gun side wants to go. This must not happen.
Sound the alarm to every firearm owner you know. Read more details in ISRA ad on page 45.
The Gun Sanctuary County movement which started in Effingham County, Illinois has now spread throughout the country. In Washington State two more counties have declared themselves Gun Sanctuary Counties. Here in Illinois, Carroll County has now joined the ranks of the resistance. More are pending.
In my last Thursday Bulletin, I spoke about our most recent Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day (IGOLD) but failed to mention one quite impressive element. One of our faithful members, Joyce Lindelof, 91 years young, not only attended IGOLD, but marched to the Capitol along with many of you. Joyce has been an active ISRA member for many years. We can all learn a lot from her dedication to our Second Amendment rights. Thank you Joyce and we hope to see you next year!
Illinois Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) is at it again. This time Morrison introduced Senate Amendment 1 (SA1) to Senate Bill 717 (SB0717). SA1 would require The Secretary of State to suspend a person’s driver’s license if their FOID is revoked. The Secretary of State could only reinstate the driver’s license when they receive documentation from the Illinois State Police.
It is true there are some bad actors out there but there are also people who only get caught up in the system. Either way, it is difficult, if not impossible, to hold a job and provide for your family or take care of your personal affairs without a driver’s license.
This would be a bureaucratic nightmare for everyone, the Illinois State Police, the Secretary of State and particularly, the Secretary of State employees, as well as the court system. I believe that neither the Illinois State Police nor the Secretary of State wants any part of this. Meanwhile, Morrison will waltz away and never have to look back at the trail of destruction she left behind.
United we stand and divided we fall has never been truer for gun owners. Right now, gun owners in Illinois are waking up from their five year nap they took after concealed carry was passed. When we pushed for concealed carry the ISRA membership was a few short of 32,000. After the Concealed Carry Act was signed, the ISRA lost about 10,000 members within the next two or three years. We have gained about half of that back. These battles need to be thought of in decades and not years. Had we not lost so many members, the battles we are facing would not be as difficult as they are now.
The ISRA needs to get to 50,000 members as soon as possible. I need your help with that.
IGOLD 2019 is now nestled into the history as one of the best we have ever had. I want to thank all those who attended, the fabulous volunteers, staff, bus sponsors and organizations who helped make IGOLD 2019 a great event. Our keynote speaker, David Keene, did a wonderful job and will be a tough act to follow. This year’s March to the Capitol was a spectacle to behold. The March was a sea of gold that seemed to flow down Capitol Avenue. We were aided by beautiful sunny weather and temperature in the 60s. There is no question that things went well for us this year.
With what is being proposed and talked about in the Illinois General Assembly, IGOLD needed to be great; items like ammunition taxes, magazine bans, semi-auto bans and fingerprinting for FOID card holders, Illinois gun owners have a lot on the table. Gun owners needed to send a message and we DID! It was reported that about 7000 people were in attendance.
Spring is here and close behind is tick season. A tick bite is nothing to be taken lightly. I know of one person who died of complications of a tick bite and others who have suffered for years. Last year, I was bitten by a tick, identified it and my doctor treated me immediately. If you are bitten by a tick and can get the tick out, keep it for identification; it helps convince the medical folks you need treatment. Ticks carry a battery of nasty diseases including, Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Alpha-gal, Bartonellosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Powassan Virus. You can get more than one of these from a tick bite. A tick bite will make your life miserable if it doesn’t kill you. Ticks can be found in the grass, on weeds and can drop from trees. It is important that you use a bug spray with plenty of deet. Ticks will crawl up your pant legs, up your sleeves, down your shirt and anywhere they can get into.
A few years ago, I was bitten by a brown recluse spider but didn’t realize it. I thought I had the flu and didn’t discover the bite for two days. I was bitten in the right leg below the knee. I had a hole in my leg about the size of a nickel. The doctor treated me right away but the venous valves in my right leg are permanently damaged.
In a case known as People of the State of Illinois v Vivian Claudine Brown, a White County Judge has found that the FOID card is unconstitutional regarding firearms in the home. Vivian had a .22 single shot rifle for protection and someone reported her for having a firearm without a FOID card. Of course, the police came and found the firearm and no FOID card. Vivian was arrested and charged with having a firearm without a FOID card.
The case has been appealed by the State of Illinois. Vivian was defended by a Public Defender in the lower court. Illinois State Rifle Association Attorney David Sigale will be representing her before the Illinois Supreme Court.
I have been receiving phone calls asking if Illinois citizens still need their FOID card. The answer is yes. Apparently, there are rumors that Illinois citizens don’t need it because of the White County ruling. Disregard those rumors. This case won’t be decided for months.
We have been receiving calls asking which states have Constitutional Carry. They are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. The total stands at 16 states right now.
The left-wing talking heads have brought forth a couple of ideas to tamper with our proven institutions. Their first is to tamper with the United States Supreme Court by “packing” the Court. To do this, the number of Justices would be increased, presumably, with left-wing ideologues to overwhelm the conservatives on the Court. This has been tried before by FDR.
Their second idea is to have term limits on the Justices or to have reappointment hearings every so many years. If any of those ideas were passed, every year we would have a fiasco like the Kavanaugh hearings. Any of these ideas would turn the Supreme Court into a constant ineffective circus, which is what the left wants.
Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren is railing against the Electoral College. The Electoral College was designed as one last step should the electorate elect some clown or traitor to the Presidency. You can tell who should not be elected by the candidates who hate the Electoral College. The Electoral College has worked just fine and should be left alone.
The United States Supreme Court and the Electoral College were both designed to prevent mob rule and prevent tyranny. Most people equate tyranny with dictatorship but that is not necessarily so. Any form of government can become tyrannical including democracies.
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For more information on 2nd Amendment issues facing Illinois, log onto www.isra.org.
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