2A Town Hall, March 4, Enfield

We will NOT comply! 

That was the tone of tonight's town hall meeting in tiny Enfield, IL.

The meeting was well attended, with reports of 400 + folks signing in. Several were from surrounding counties including Edwards, Wayne, and Gallatin. There may have been other counties represented but I had confirmed contact with folks from those three. There were also several law enforcement officials from other counties as well as at least one officer from District 19 ISP (I'm assuming in an unofficial capacity as I know the officer lives in White county and wasn't in uniform).

Speaking this evening were Representative Darren Bailey (R, 109th), Senator Dale Righter (R, 55th), White County State's Attorney Denton Aud, White County Sheriff Doug Maier, as well as Mike and Valinda Rowe (Illinois Carry and ISRA).

After a brief welcome and introductions, Rep. Bailey opened the meeting with prayer followed by Valinda leading us in a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. (That's how we do things down here in the parts of IL that are still America)

Valinda spoke about past lawsuits that were important to Concealed Carry and gun ownership in IL and the importance of being informed. She gave excellent instructions on signing up for alerts from Illinoiscarry.com and how to log in for the discussion forums to help coordinate with like minded folks.

Rep. Bailey had the stage at this point and mentioned that he has three Chicago Reps that have committed to spending some time in the area this summer in order to learn about the vast differences between their home and ours. I thought this was a great plan and I hope they hold to that commitment, it's much better than simply arguing with them and lets them see what culture outside of the city is like, as well as the poor state of our infrastructure. He went on to mention the effectiveness of phone calls and emails to other Reps that introduce bills and/or sit on different committees. The "per-mile" tax and the "No guns in Churches" bills being two examples that have been pulled due to large amounts of negative feedback.

Rep. Bailey ended his segment by assuring everyone in attendance that if SB107 ("Assault Weapons" ban) were to pass, that he will not register his own firearms. This resulted in a large applause as you might expect.

Senator Righter took the podium next and expressed the need to contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in order to pass along our opposition to SB107. He stressed that respect was key in this as being rude would just cause them to ignore the pleas. I agree with this but would add that one can be firm and respectful at the same time. The folks that push these bills don't expect a coordinated resistance and we need to show them just that.

Sen. Righter did go on to say that he feels SB107 is an Unconstitutional and inappropriate bill and that he would fight it as such. He reminded everyone that a basic distrust in government is exactly what led to the Bill of Rights in the first place and bills like this are a perfect example of government overreach.

Next up was White County State's Attorney, Denton Aud. Mr. Aud spent some time discussing the discretion that is afforded to the State's Attorney's office and that his job is to pursue justice rather than simply prosecute crimes. His oath states that he is to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to protect the people that have elected him. He feels that these proposed laws are at odds with the U.S. Constitution and, after discussion with the Sheriff and Police Chiefs in White, he will not prosecute a person in White County for simple violation of a law like SB107, if they are an otherwise law-abiding citizen. Mr. Aud received a standing ovation.

Sheriff Doug Maier took the stage briefly and reinforced that he and other LEO in White will not arrest for a violation of SB107, given that the citizen is otherwise law-abiding. (Note: he is referring to his Deputies and other local PDs, not the ISP, as he can't speak for them)

At this point the floor was opened for questions, which were general in nature and answered fairly concisely. One attendee asked about the new regulations for gun shops, SA Aud stated that IL State Regulation of a business was not Unconstitutional as far as he could tell. Mike and Valinda Rowe mentioned that the law is being examined in detail for any cracks that can be exploited with a lawsuit but that none have yet been found.

I felt that the meeting was informative and thought that the speakers all did a very good job and were reassuring, particularly for those living in White County. Of course, Sen. Righter said it best...we need to stop SB107 from ever becoming law, rather than discussing how to avoid prosecution if it does become law.

You'll forgive me for the blandness, I'm much more accustomed to tossing out my own thoughts rather than reporting things (if you can call this reporting).

Illinois doubles down on stupid

Illinois...there's something in the water. 

For those readers not familiar with Illinois, it's really two states: one that is basically Chicago/Cook County and its collar counties (mostly "left leaning"), the other is roughly everything south of I-80 (mostly "right leaning") which is typically labeled as "downstate". Of course, this is a generalization as we know there are pockets of liberalism in "downstate" (Champaign County, for instance) and vice-versa. Further, there are some "liberals" who own firearm as well....so lets not get too wrapped up in the labels.

Sadly, the population of Cook County, etc. is enough that the entire remainder of the state can think one way and get overruled in an election. The last Gubernatorial race found a few more pockets in support of the democratic candidate as people were rightfully fed up with Gov. Rauner's ineffectiveness.

 Those of us in "downstate" IL knew that the relatively stable, though not ideal, situation for firearms ownership would take a negative turn when Gov. J.B. Pritzker was elected. As it turns out, we underestimated the slope of that downward curve and how quickly the Chicago pols would act.

Yeah, they're swinging for the fences.

First, they held a bill that they knew Gov. Rauner would veto and passed it off to new Gov. Pritsker shortly after being seated. Seems like dirty pool to me but I'm no expert on that stuff, I expect it to be challenged in court.

This bill was signed and has now become Public Act 100-1178, it requires state level licensing of firearms dealers and includes licensing fees, video camera requirements (video of all doors, all inventory, as well as all transactions....), video storage requirements (90 days minimum), inspection requirements, and so on. Video storage can get expensive in a hurry, just ask any number of small police departments that can't afford to store body cam footage.

Besides all that, the BATFE already controls firearms dealers at the federal level and we know that criminals with records don't go to gun shops to buy their firearms. According to the DOJ stats published on the same day this bill was signed, only 1.9% of criminals in possession of a gun claim to have purchased it in a retail location.

Next they dropped SB 0107 in our laps. This is the typical "assault weapons" ban and includes your choice of registration or confiscation of existing firearms that fit their language. No surprises here except for not having a grandfather clause.

A day or two later, we see HB0888 arrive. This is a bill that requires you to turn over info for your social media accounts when you apply for a new FOID or attempt to renew it. I can understand how some people might think this is a good thing, but folks....due process. If someone is doing things on one of the social media networks that makes you raise an eyebrow, I get it. But until they're prosecuted of a crime I don't see how the state could use this against them but they'll certainly try using it for Red Flag purposes.


My personal favorite (so far) is the newly released HB1467. Wondering what's in this gem? Read on.

A retailer will be required to do the following for an AMMUNITION sale.

Record the following info:
1. Date of transaction
2. Purchaser's name, address, DOB
3. Purchaser's FOID information
4. Amount of ammunition, caliber, manufacturer's name and serial number or other identifying info
5. Requires the retailer to send all of this to the IL State Police within 7 days of the sale of ammunition.
6. Retailer must keep a log book of ammunition sales, available for inspection by law enforcement

The bill also requires the IL State Police to establish and maintain a searchable database which contains these ammunition records.

 Sooo, since that pesky U.S. Constitution makes it unlawful for the state to have a database of firearm sales...they'll just record ammunition sales and then deduce who-owns-what to some degree. To be clear, they do know when a firearm is sold at retail but only that it is a handgun or long gun.

Edit 1/31/19  to add a new bill introduced late yesterday: 

HB1586 may be tied for my favorite now....this atrocity will require all handgun ammunition to be serialized. If you possess un-serialized ammunition that was previously owned or was purchased from a sane state...too bad. Also creates a registry of serial numbers from an ammunition sale, so obviously this goes along with HB1467 above. 

 

None of this is going to stop crime of any type and they know it. My opinion is that they're hoping to drive gun shops out of business and scare a handful of people into turning in a few firearms. Meanwhile, gangbangers will still be bangin and it's business as usual with them.

Those of us closer to Kentucky than Chicago tend to be of the mindset that these things won't affect us much but you need to wake up and realize that this will affect you. They aren't playing around. There is a Democratic super-majority in both houses and a new leftist sitting in the Governor's chair, it's going to be tough and you need to get involved. In my opinion, complacency is consent and those who roll over are just as much to blame as those who bring this mess to the table.




How can you help? Stay with me....

Get off of your rear, get on the phone, send a letter, or an email, file witness slips for these bills, wear these elected officials out with communication. You can find the contact info for your elected officials here, just click on Members and follow your nose.

If you've never filed Witness slips before, see IllinoisCarry.com (link on the right) for instructions. Lots of good folks there to help you out.

Attend IGOLD on March 27 (there's time to plan) and get to Springfield any other time you can. Yes, even if you don't agree with everything that the ISRA does, now is no time to divide ourselves

If you're a Sheriff reading this by some strange luck, I ask that you tell the ILGA that you won't assist with enforcing this attack on honest folks if it does manage to become law.

County boards? Pass a line in your budget barring county funds from being spent on enforcement of this tripe. Help us find a way.

If you're one of the legislators that have brought these bills forward or support them, please reconsider. These actions will do nothing more than hurt the people that already follow laws, not those who are actually doing harm.

IGOLD continued/afterthoughts

Just wanted to mention that Todd and Valinda weren't the only folks there speaking today, many others shared personal stories and words of encouragement. Among them were Otis McDonald (McDonald v Chicago) and Mary Shepard (Shepard v Madigan). 

Mary has been unable to attend the last couple of years as her Dr. hadn't released her to travel (at least that is my understanding...someone may correct me on that) and to hear her talk about being beaten and left for dead really struck a chord with everyone in attendance. It really couldn't have happened to a sweeter lady.

Once inside the Capitol I had the opportunity to thank her for standing up and taking her story to the courts, I can't imagine what it must be like to have to relate those events over and over again. While speaking with her I realized just how small of physical stature she is, I'm sure that she looks like an easy target for criminals and is.... as long as she remains unarmed. Being familiar with her story, I know that her attacker was approximately my size (6'2"/250) and standing there with her really illustrated just how much of a physical advantage someone my size would have over her. However, I know she's well trained and, if armed, she'd be a force to be reckoned with.

The media reports of attendees varies wildly, some stating that "hundreds" marched on the Capitol while others put the number between 3000 - 4000. My estimate was closer to  7000, I base this on the capacity of the main hall of PCCC (7700) and the fact that there were people all over the place outside the convention center. To say that it's tough to get an estimate on attendees is an understatement.

Yet again, the Capitol Police were heard to comment that IGOLD attendees are always a pleasure to work with and many look forward to it. Maybe they need to relay that to the "blood in the streets" crowd that wants to take away our firearms.

Sadly I wasn't able to get over to the grip-n-grin afterwards, the head cold that I thought I had shaken came back with a vengeance and I starting feeling pretty miserable while still inside the Capitol. Here's hoping that everyone there had a good time!

Thanks to everyone that puts on and attends IGOLD.... we ARE making a difference.

Location, location, location....

When the word "location" comes up this week, there's only one place YOU need to be:

IGOLD in Springfield, Illinois. 

Yes, YOU do need to be there because last week Speaker Madigan and the machine played games with our rights and it looks like the games are continuing this week. 

Last week it was concealed carry, this week they'll be looking to ban personal defense weapons (or what the media calls "assault weapons"). 

The details on last week are long and maddening, I'll refrain from getting into them here but I will say that we can't turn our attention away from things for even one day. If you'd like to read all about it, head over to IllinoisCarry.com for much discussion on events of last week. 

"They" want an extremely restrictive "May Issue" law for concealed carry and use a lot of emotional wording to make that sound like a good thing. Here's a scenario that demonstrates why may issue sucks: 

        Let's say that back in High School I dated the current local Sheriff's sister and he was always very       protective of her and didn't care much for me. Now, I apply for a RTC permit....even though I have no criminal record or any history of mental illness, he chooses to deny me a permit simply based on his dislike for me having dated his sister. Or maybe I didn't donate to the Sheriffs' Association, or maybe he doesn't like the way I mow my lawn.... Seriously, "may issue" laws allow for this ridiculousness. 

We want a "shall issue" bill. This means that as long as you don't have a felony record, no history of mental illness, you currently hold a valid FOID and you have passed required training.... you receive a permit. If you are denied a permit, there MUST be a VALID reason for that denial and it must hold up under scrutiny of the law. Those that don't like shall issue will use emotion to try to convince you that it will result in handing out permits like candy to anyone that wants one, this is simply not the case. 

We also want preemption. Huh? This means that Chicago would have to abide by the same carry law as every other part of the state, we don't want to leave our Chicago citizens out to dry. 

Please call your Reps and Senators folks! Tell them:

NO bad carry bills

NO gun, magazine or ammo bans

NO to the city of Chicago's agenda until they respect the Second Amendment!!!

Also, I want to remind folks that you can watch committee meetings and floor debates LIVE online. It's my opinion that doing so should be required of every citizen, it really shows how inept some of our elected folks are. 

To do so, go to www.ilga.gov and find the row of wording (in the blue bar) at the top of the page, place your cursor over the word "House" or "Senate" and a menu will drop down. At the bottom of that menu, you'll find a link for audio/video. If there's anything going on live, you'll find the link on the age that opens up....just be sure to have your blood pressure meds handy if you need them. Some of these folks have no business "leading" our state. 

IGOLD: March 7, 2012 - be there!

Just a quick reminder to everyone that Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day (IGOLD) is nearly upon us. Come march on the IL Capital with us this week and show legislators that self defense is in everyone's best interest.

A new way to contact legislators has come to my attention, thanks to some folks at IllinoisCarry.com.
Basically, it allows us all to send our opinion of a bill while it's in committee and hopefully get a bad bill stopped there (or push a good bill through, of course). They are called Witness Slips and some excellent directions for filling these out are available here: Call to Action!  (instructions are in the first post)

Sadly, the legislators are apparently not bound to use these for direction. Last week in committee the Executive Committee Chair commented that the slips resembled the Springfield phone book on one anti-gun bill in particular....but the bad bill still sped through the (heavily Chicago based) committee handily. At any rate, it provides a record of IL residents feelings on the bill and might make a legislator think twice before hanging his/her constituents out to dry.

I also wanted to share a link with the random readers here, it's a police officer's blog and he recommends that everyone own and learn to use a weapon for their own defense. He even provides a breakdown of the  process/time involved in a 911 call. I think it's an excellent piece to share with friends that say "Well, I'd just call 911, the police will protect me".
Thoughts from behind the badge

Hope to see you at IGOLD on Wednesday!

Happy New Year

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy New Year, I hope it brings great things for you and yours!

My wish for the New Year :      RTC in Illinois. 
HB 148 is still an active bill and is, in my opinion, our strongest chance of getting RTC via legislature this year. Of course, we still have 2 major cases in courts that will very likely sway things in our direction, but often the courts move very slowly. 

There are a few elections in which I think we'll see opposition to the incumbents and RTC will be a big contender in the debates that are coming.

IGOLD is right around the corner....we want to see you and 10,000 (or more) of your closest friends in Springfield this March! Start talking with friends and loved ones now and make your plans.

All in all, there appears to be a slow but steady swing towards restoring our rights here in the Prairie State, folks are realizing that RTC is the norm in 49 other states and many more are simply fed up with criminals having free reign over the streets.

So, jump in and hang on...let's bring RTC to IL this year!

Momentum...we have some

First, let me apologize for my poor posting during IGOLD.... it was a busy day and mobile blogging is a new world to me anyway, but frankly I was simply overwhelmed during my first IGOLD! So many people to meet and say "Thanks" to and so many others of like mind to chat with. It was an excellent experience and I look forward to next year.

(go to this FB link to see plenty of better pics than mine)

Anyway... news agencies from around the state are reporting that RTC legislation has real legs this year and I have to agree based on speaking with those that are working in Springfield to make this happen.

There were more stories covering IGOLD this year than any time before, always a good sign. Some of the stories were horribly wrong, but at least it got a mention. I won't do their work for them, but at least one news agency mentioned "about 150 attendees"; I'm sure I saw several THOUSAND folks marching along with me in the streets.

Some say that RTC could come from hard work while others are saying that the Chicago Dems simply have to appease downstate legislators after the tax hike and loss of the death penalty.

I say: I don't care how we get it, but it's damned sure time to bring IL in line with the rest of these United States. Why should our wives, sisters and daughters not have the right to protect themselves? Why are our husbands, brothers and sons any less "equal" than those of the other 49?

So yes, we have some momentum, but we also can't afford to lay off of our elected folks on this. Keep calling, writing and emailing those people (always politely) and make sure they know that We, The People want this NOW.

As I mentioned, there are people working for us in Springfield....but they can't do it alone. It's up to each and every one of us to do some work and get this done THIS YEAR.

If you can afford it, toss a few dollars the way of the organizations that are working for you on RTC legislation. ISRA and Illinois Carry being two of them. (links to the right of the page)

IGOLD is a hit!

Just a quick note to let anyone reading know that the IGOLD event is going very well.

There's a positive feel in the air and the day has been good all around. Look for pics soon.

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Geared Up for IGOLD

March 10th is upon us and that means IGOLD in Springfield!

Just a last reminder that YOU are welcome to come and join us to peaceably remind our elected folks that the 2A guarantees our RIGHT to keep and bear arms.

Hope to see you there! Look for updates.