September broke another record for background checks and gun sales. There were 2,892,115 background checks. Many of the background checks were for concealed carry permits. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), who analyzes firearm data, estimates that gun sales for September were about 1,614,000 firearms. While this is record setting, there probably would have been more sales if more firearms were available.
For the first time, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) and the United States Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) held a two day Rifle Marksmanship 101 class at the ISRA Range. Everything went very well. The reason things go well is because of the people involved.
The CMP and AMU people are great. They were not the only ones who were great; the ISRA volunteers made the class a success. ISRA Range Master Jeff Marienthal, members of the Tuesday Night Irregular Rifle League, Range Safety Officers, ISRA staff, ISRA coaches and other ISRA volunteers made it all happen. The CMP is looking to return to the ISRA Range.
Next year, we will put together a Small Arm Firing School for pistol. There is no date yet but it will probably be in October. The CMP staff regards the ISRA Range as one of the best they have ever been to. Thanks to all who helped!
I know many of you are concerned about the ISRA lawsuits. There will be nothing happening as long as the Coronavirus Pandemic is around. It will most likely be after January 1, 2021. The 10 lawsuits the Supreme Court of the United States turned down will not come back into play regardless of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation. As I have mentioned before, Chief Justice Roberts is soft on the Second Amendment. With the new additional of Judge Barrett new lawsuits may move forward. Judge Barrett has two good rulings on the Second Amendment. They are Kanter v Barr in 2019 and United States v Watson in 2018. We have had experience with Judge Barrett. She is from the 7th Circuit which is our path to the SCOTUS.
Voting is one of the most important privileges we have as American citizens. In 2016, only 61.4% of the voting age population in the United States reported voting. The 2020 election is rapidly approaching, and it is vital to participate in the 2020 election. Important dates to remember: October 6 –Voter registration deadline; October 29 – Absentee/ Mail-in voting deadline; November3 – Election Day.
In Waukegan, Illinois, Jimy and Christian Tenorio dressed as utility workers and decided to pull a home invasion at 10:30 am on September 22nd. They pushed their way into a home when a woman with a baby answered the door. Of course the woman screamed which alerted a fellow who rented a room in the basement. He armed himself with a semi-automatic pistol, came up the stairs and engaged Christian Tenorio who was armed with a revolver. The tenant then went back to his room and retrieved what was described as an assault rifle and re-engaged the brothers. In the gun fight that ensued, both the Tenorio brothers ended up dead in the front yard. To my knowledge no one else was hurt. As far as I am concerned, the police should have just bagged them up and set them out on the curb for the garbage man to pick up on his usual route.
The words oligarchy and oligarchs are in the news particularly in regards to the Russian investigation. Oligarchy is a Greek word meaning “rule by a few.” Every country has oligarchs including the United States. There are lots of ways oligarchs hold power. They can be by wealth, military power, corporate power, religious power or other ways. In medieval Europe, the nobility were really oligarchs.
Whatever type of oligarchy it is, it usurps the power of the people. Right now, here in the United States, I believe we are seeing a new type of oligarch. These oligarchs control the messages to and between the people. The rise of the left-wing mainstream media is an example.
The main stream media are really oligarchs. The citizens are only told what someone wants them to hear. That is not news that is propaganda. The new part of all this is social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the rest of the platforms censor political thought. I see that in the Thursday Bulletins when we are not allowed to boost a post. The internet is still out there but there are attempts to control that also.
The tech giants in Silicon Valley have a big hand in financing the Biden-Harris campaign. These tech giants want to control the political messaging. These are also leftists who want the world to be what they want, not necessarily what you and I want. Michael Bloomberg is another example of a modern oligarch. Not only does he control a lot of media, he has donated 1.8 billion to the John Hopkins School of Public Health.
Bloomberg wants to make firearm ownership a public health issue and he has just the tool to support what he wants. What these modern oligarchs want is to decide what polices will govern the United States, all to their benefit of course. We are talking trillions of dollars. Having people in office like Biden and Harris means these oligarchs can control them. There is another word you don’t use every day that describes that situation. That word is kakistocracy or “governance by the least suitable”. If the Biden-Harris ticket is elected, kakistocracy may become a household world.
The number of days until the General Election are dwindling down to a precious few. I don’t mind telling you I have the brassy taste of fear in my mouth over this election. Every gun owner better vote and vote the right way. To that end, my wife and I ordered mail in ballots. I voted and mailed in my ballot last Monday. Dropping my ballot in the mail gave me pause I have to admit. The ballot left my hands properly addressed but that doesn’t mean it will arrive. I don’t know that I will do that again. Voting in person certainly gives me a higher confidence level. Still, I wanted to vote once by mail to see what it was like.
President Trump has authorized the declassification of any and all documents related to the Russia investigation tied to the 2016 Presidential Election and the smear campaign orchestrated by Hillary Clinton. Though heavily redacted, there was obviously a set up involving John Brennan, Susan Rice, James (I don’t remember anything) Comey and many others. If all these people knew what was going on and then President Obama was briefed about what was going on, what did Joe Biden know? If enough facts are revealed in time this may influence the 2020 General Election, as it should. This whole thing is a pile of Democrat political manure of biblical proportions. While Hillary Clinton did not get the title of President of the United States, she seems to have earned the distinction of Queen of Corruption.
On November 19, 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev said, “The United States will eventually fly the communist red flag…the American people will hoist it themselves.” It appears we are getting close to that time. There are 45 goals the communists set for themselves. They include control of the schools, use of riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under communist attack, infiltrate the press, gain control of key positions in radio, TV and motion pictures. (Since that time, we would have to add various forms of social media). How do you think they are doing?
Gun owners of the United States are resisting but some gun owners tell me they don’t want to get involved. That is like finding yourself in a big iron kettle full of water over a roaring fire surrounded by cannibals and telling them you don’t want to be involved. You better get involved or you will be on somebody’s dinner plate shortly. This one is for all the marbles.
A few years ago, Remington was acquiring other gun companies. One of those companies was Marlin. Marlin is a fine old name in firearms and was Annie Oakley’s favorite. Remington was never able to produce firearms of the quality that Marlin achieved. This was, at least in part, because they moved the production line a couple of times leaving some of the skilled Marlin employees behind. Now Ruger has purchased Marlin from Remington. It will take a while but I’m sure within a year or two Marlin will be back.
Lawsuit update: We are amending the complaints in the FOID application and appeal cases (Bradley and Thomas cases). We are appealing the Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board Case (White case). We are preparing other cases.
Congratulations to my longtime friend and friend of the ISRA Massad Ayoob on becoming President of the Second Amendment Foundation. Massad replaces Joe Tartaro who passed away earlier this year. We look forward to working with President Ayoob in these tough and turbulent times.
ISRA members, be sure to send in your Life, Endowment, Patron, and Benefactor upgrade you recently received in the email. The offer must be postmarked by October 31st, 2020. Remember, you will receive a Made in the USA Buck Knife with the ISRA logo. You may also call the office and upgrade over the phone.
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