Many have been asking about legislation that would allow suppressors in Illinois. New suppressor legislation will be introduced in the Spring 2020 Session. The chances of it passing in an election year are slim. Moreover, in Congress there are a couple of anti-suppressor bills that have been recently introduced. U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) has introduced S. 1943 which would ban and confiscate privately owned suppressors. Congresswoman Jennifer Weston (D-Va.) would allow sheriffs and police chiefs to put the kibosh on suppressor sales without cause, within 90 days of application. These two bills probably have the bad guys quaking in their boots.
The shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio have caused screams for more gun control. I would like to point out that as the stories of these shooters unfold it is obvious that there were plenty of warning signs but people just want to stick their head in the sand and hope it all goes away. Hope, as I often point out, is a poor strategy. There were plenty of people who knew about these miscreants and did nothing, but I have digressed.
Much of what is being proposed, Illinois already has and more. I would like to remind everyone that an Illinois Firearms Owner’s Identification card (FOID) holder goes through a background check every night. The exceptions are days when the courts are not open, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, and the 4th of July. If you have an Illinois Concealed Carry License (ICCL), you go through two background checks every night. The crime rate is so low among FOID card holders that real numbers have to be used; if statistics were used in percentages of FOID card holders, the numbers to the right of the decimal point would be nearly impossible to read because they would be so small – something like .00000174%. That is not quite right, but you get the idea. In Illinois, those background checks include mental health checks.
If you sell a firearm, both the buyer and the seller must have FOID cards. You will need to go to the Illinois State Police website and enter the buyer’s FOID card and get an approval number. Chicago and Cook County are case studies in how not to enforce existing gun laws. Chicago’s violence problems are caused by drug-fueled gangs. I am not going to blame the Chicago police or other Cook County law enforcement organizations. When one of those police officers arrests a bad actor, they are literally out of jail before the cop can get the paperwork filled out. Some of these arrests should be a slam dunk but for some reason, they are not.
Here is an example: Earlier this year, a police officer raided a drug dealer’s place where they confiscated lots of drugs, guns, and piles of cash. The guy had been arrested several times before and was caught red-handed. There were probably twenty different felonies involved. The guy is a repeat offender. The next morning, the cop goes into finish filling out his report and he meets the guy coming out of the police facility. There is your problem.
In the meantime, crime goes on and the General Assembly passes more laws that affect you and me, who have never done anything wrong. Here is my word of advice to any legislator anywhere: The Latin Kings, the Disciples, MS13 and the like, don’t give a hoot what you pass. They don’t care. In fact, the restrictive gun laws you legislators pass, only disarm the law-abiding citizens and make the bad guys’ job easier and safer.
I would like to mention that the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) National Championships were held in Marengo, Ohio. There were over 3000 registered shooters. Over 2 million clay targets, 12 semi-trailer loads, were thrown at this competition. ISRA member, Grace Marlen, 16 years old, was the first lady shooter to ever win the Browning Scholarship and the first lady shooter to ever win HOA for American Trap in SCTP history. Grace shot a 200/200 on 16-yard American Trap to win the Ladies division. Grace was then in a shoot-off with the two men’s division leaders who both had 200/200 also. Grace defeated both of the male shooters with a 75/75, in front of a huge crowd. Grace ended up with two 1st place medals, one 2nd place medal, and one 3rd place medal at this year’s SCTP nationals. https://www.bnd.com/sports/high-school/article233533252.html
Grace competed in Sporting Clays, American Skeet, Doubles Skeet, Bunker (International) Trap, American Trap, Doubles Trap, and Handicap Trap at this year’s nationals. Well done!
These programs really do give kids the chance to develop the skills needed in life to succeed by requiring them to use discipline, focus, camaraderie, working as a team, learning to deal with pressure (as in the desire to win competitions), all while having fun with friends.
August is National Shooting Sports Month so take someone shooting. In Sparta, Illinois, the Grand Nationals Shotgun Championships (trap shooting) are in full swing. They will fire about 3,000,000 rounds there and only clay pigeons get hit.
The National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, saw the ISRA Six Man Team take 2nd place, being edged out by Texas. The margin was two points. In the National Infantry Match, the ISRA took ninth place. Remember, we are competing against military teams who have a lot of advantages.
Turmoil inside the NRA has led anti-gun groups to increase their attacks on the Second Amendment and individual gun ownership. All across the country Bloomberg’s minions are on the attack. Illinois, of course, is in their sights. It is important that every Illinois gun owner be ready. The ISRA will begin regional meetings in August. We will be doing updates at the Bloomington Gun Show on August 10th and 11th. We will also hold meetings in Sparta and Harrisburg, Illinois. We will be preparing for the Veto Sessions and the Spring Legislative Session. The 2020 General Election is looming large. It is going to be a very busy year.
In Virginia Beach, Virginia, a pair of robbers attempted a holdup at a 7-Eleven. The pair barged in and ordered everyone to follow directions, or else. The “or else” appeared in the form of a legally licensed concealed carry holder. The local hero quickly shot and killed one of the robbers and wounded the other. Those two had apparently robbed a string of convenience stores. It turned out that the robbers were armed with air guns but no one knew that until it was over.
In Gilroy, California, a crackpot shot and killed three people at the annual Garlic Festival. The Garlic Festival is in a Gun Free Zone so there was no licensed concealed carry citizen who could have stopped the shooting. Reports indicate that the shooter had previously been electronically searched with a wand by the police. Apparently, someone cut a hole in the fence and the rifle was passed through the hole at the Festival. He may have had an accomplice but no one knows for sure at this time. The police neutralized the shooter in about one minute but it was too late. Both this situation and the one in Virginia Beach were those places where seconds counted and minutes were too late. Virginia has lots of concealed carry permit holders but California does not. California is a May-issue state which means a person can pass all the requirements but the state can simply refuse your permit without cause. Santa Clara County, where Gilroy is located, has a population of 1.5 million people. There are only 113 concealed carry permits in the Santa Clara County, or one permit for every 14,000 plus people. In my opinion, the State of California bears some of the responsibility for the incident.
The ISRA Junior Smallbore Team placed second overall in Conventional Position Championships. Josie Peters placed in the top 10 of all competitors. Martina Gratz was second in the Iron Man Match. The Iron Man Match is a 1200 shot match with a possible 12,000 points. Martina is a Junior in High School. I can’t tell you how much pleasure it gives me to report that Martina did so well in the Iron Man. News from the National Rifle Championships is good.
Jim Miller is a Senior Shooter and is one of the best in the country. Jim won three Senior Aggregate medals and made both the Dewar Team and Wakefield Teams. The Smallbore Nationals are over and the ISRA shooters did well. Good job!
I know many of you are wondering about the status of the lawsuit against the Gun Dealer Licensing Certification Act. All I can tell you is that the lawsuit has been filed and the defendants (State of Illinois) have been served. As of this time, the defendants have not answered the complaint. The coverage in the media has been pretty good. One of the responses from the other side is we needed the Gun Dealer Licensing Certification Act (GDLCA) to stop straw purchases. I would like to remind everyone that straw purchases are already illegal. In fact, in 2008, during the 95th General Assembly, an enhanced penalty was passed to further deter straw purchases. That bill, HB5524, passed out of the Illinois House of Representatives. It is interesting that the only people who did not vote for it were 18 Chicago Democrats. The bill did much better in the Illinois Senate. One of the sponsors of that bill was Kwame Raoul, the present Attorney General.
The USA High School Clay Target National Championships have concluded in Mason, Michigan. I am proud to say Calhoun High School came in 2nd, breaking 962 targets out of 1000. They were beaten by Roseau High School, of Minnesota, by just two birds. Five other Illinois teams were in the top 100. Illinois has about 90 High School trap teams. Nationally, there are over 1000 high schools in the High School Clay Target Program with over 32,000 students participating. The great thing about shooting is you don’t have to be 7 feet tall and weigh 300 pounds to be successful. There are also 70 and 80-year old’s still enjoying the shooting sports. Try that with football and some of the other sports out there. I know, every day I hear my shoulders pop and my knees squeak from playing football, but I still enjoy shooting.
The Gun Dealer Licensing Certification Act law suit will be heard on September 5, 2019 In Springfield.
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