On Monday, March 15th, I sent out an alert postponing the 2021 IGOLD event. I know you are all as disappointed as I am. I know many of you say “Have it anyway.” That is easier said than done. Springfield is essentially locked down not just for us, but every other group. No one is picking on us specifically. IGOLD has a sterling reputation because it is well organized, focused and disciplined. IGOLD is the largest group that goes to Springfield and causes the least problems. That goes a long way in Springfield and everywhere else. It has taken years to build a good reputation, but it only takes moments to destroy it. The next IGOLD is scheduled for April 6th, 2022.
In the meantime, the fight for the Second Amendment is moving forward. In the last Thursday Bulletin, I mentioned that the ISRA is developing a series of informational videos. The first of these videos is on the ISRA website. If you wish to view these videos, go to the website and hover over Advocacy and click on Informational Videos from the drop-down list. Right now, these include: How to Create an ILGA Account; How to File a Witness Slip; Locating Your State Legislator. There will be more on the way.
Legislators can still be reached by email, fax and phone. These videos will help you get your message to the General Assembly and individual legislators.
The United States House of Representatives has passed two anti-gun resolutions, H.R. 8 (the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021) and H.R. 1446 (the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021). These two resolutions were passed with the help of some Republicans. H.R. 8 passed 227-203. This Resolution requires universal background checks. Joining the anti-gun Democrats was Adam Kinzinger (IL-16). Congressman Kinzinger also voted for H.R. 1446 which passed 219-210. H.R.1446 extends the time for background checks to 10 days but the background check could be delayed for much longer. These resolutions would make it much more difficult for law abiding gun owners and would have no effect on the criminal use of firearms.
In the United States Senate, Diane Feinstein is at it again and is going to introduce drastic anti-gun legislation. Her favorite target is so-called assault weapons. This time she is teaming up with Congressmen David Cicilline of Rhode Island. The resolution has no number, yet these two lefties have announced the provisions. They are: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/03/feinstein-cicilline-awb-legislation-treason-say-gun-activists/#axzz6pE5ZcdVS
The bills are pouring out of the Illinois General Assembly. Presently, we are tracking 175 bills and resolutions. One of the latest is SB2300. SB2300 (Ann Gillespie (D-27 Arlington Heights) would put a 10% tax on so-called “assault weapons“ and “high capacity magazines”. This follows the pattern of ‘if you can’t ban them, tax them’ agenda. Remember, the power to tax is the power to destroy.
Our ISRA attorney will be before the Illinois Supreme Court on March 10, 2021, regarding the FOID Restoration case, Evans v. Illinois State Police and Cook County State’s Attorney. This is when arguments will be heard. The decision may take some time.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation reports that President Joe Biden is considering executive orders that could redefine the threshold for unfinished receivers, requiring them to go through background checks by naming them as firearms.
Finally, warmer weather is here and while we all love it, it also means a rise in all types of crime. One of those types is carjackings. In Chicago, carjackings are rising. I predict that by the end of the year, Chicago could see 2200 carjackings, which averages six per day. There are several things you can do to make yourself a less conspicuous target. One of the things I notice is people taking their own sweet time and leaving themselves vulnerable. People will pull into a store and just sit there, doors unlocked, windows down and their minds are somewhere but not where they are. They are easy targets to say the least.
The same things happen when they come out of a store, particularly a grocery store. They never look around when they load their groceries into their vehicle. When they do get in their vehicle, some just sit there for a while doing whatever with doors unlocked and windows down. They do everything but send the thugs an engraved invitation. The same is true at gas stations, except they leave the keys in the car or even worse, running their vehicle while they are pumping gas.
A friend of mine managed a large multi pump gas station. One day a lady pulled in to fill up. She had a child in a baby seat in the back. While she was pumping gas, a guy slipped into the back seat right under her nose. She never saw him. Fortunately, one of the inside cashiers saw what happened. Thinking quickly, he ran out and told the lady there was a problem with her credit card and she would need to come inside. Another cashier called 911 and police quickly surrounded the car. The baby was safe, the lady was okay, and the thug was surprised, but it did not have to be that way. If that cashier hadn’t been alert, people would be walking though some field or timber somewhere dreading what they might find.
Parking decks are another area where the unaware are easy pickings. One day, I pulled into a parking deck in Peoria, Illinois, and there was a woman with her back turned to everyone while changing a baby’s diaper in the trunk of the car. That parking deck had been the scene of several attacks. I pulled in down the way a bit and kept an eye on the situation until she left. She never knew I was there or anyone else, for that matter.
The short summation is don’t make yourself an easier target than you already are; there are those out there who seem to be asking for it and the sad news, some will get it. The last thing you want to be is the subject on some true crime television show.
Be sure to mark your calendar for IGOLD on April 6, 2022!
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Interesting Tidbits:
March 4, 1918 – The first case of the Spanish Flu is reported at Fort Riley, Kansas. The Spanish Flu would eventually kill 675,000 Americans and somewhere between 20 and 70 million people around the world. The Fall and Winter of 1918/1919 were particularly bad. I knew a woman who was a young girl on a farm in Clinton, Illinois, during that time. She told me five members of their household died but they were all so sick and the weather was so cold that they could not bury them so they wrapped the bodies in blankets and froze them on the back porch until Spring. The Spanish Flu is a misnomer. It apparently started in Kansas and spread around the world from there. Remember WWI was going on and American troops were going to Europe. They took the Spanish Flu with them. It was a terrible time.
March 5, 1770 – The Boston Massacre erupts leaving five Americans dead. They were Crispus Attucks, James Caldwell, Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray and Samuel Maverick. British soldiers were being pummeled by snowballs, panicked and fired into the crowd. These were the first deaths of the Revolutionary War. Crispus Attucks was an African American. A park is named in his honor in Carbondale, Illinois.
March 6, 1899 – The German Company, Bayer, patents acetylsalicylic acid more commonly known as aspirin. For centuries the bark of willow trees was used to relieve pain and fever. Bayer employees Felix Hoffmann and Arthur Eichengrun found a way to stabilize the chemical and make it more pleasant to take. Before that, people actually ate willow tree bark which was really hard on the digestive tract.
