IL HB148, step one: Complete!

For those that may not have heard, Illinois HB148 "Family and Personal Protection Act" (concealed carry) was passed through committee today by a 12 - 2 vote.

Many folks turned out to testify in support of the bill; some were expected but at least one group was a pleasant surprise....the Chicago Police Sergeants' Association has now officially shown their support! 


(Rumor is, Mayor Daley is less than happy about this... He's on his way out so he can be as unhappy as he wants)


This completes the first step in bringing IL into line with the rest of the country and taking our state back from the criminals. Now we must continue to push as this still has to get a full House vote and so forth.

How can you help? Get active and don't just "hope", that's the key! Below are my suggestions of how you can do your part.

Attend IGOLD (Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day) this Thursday, March 10 and let Springfield and the rest of the state hear YOUR voice. Bring a friend or two or twenty. 

Send a quick email or phone call of "THANKS" to the folks on the House Ag. and Conservation Committee that voted "yes" to send the bill on.

Send a polite email or call to the two dissenting votes and encourage them to vote "yes" when it comes to the floor. They need to understand that the PEOPLE want this!
(The "No" votes were from Representatives Flowers and Burke...I will post contact info links below)

Continue to call those legislators that are on the fence or are "no" voters and explain that we want our Constitutional Rights to be recognized. Ask them to support HB148 and co-sponsor it. Lets really burn up the phone lines!

It wouldn't hurt to call and thank the legislators that do support and cosponsor the bill, but no need to really get after them as much as those that might not be in support.

Join the ISRA (Il State Rifle Assn) if you can afford it (we all know that times are tough).

Join the NRA if you can afford it, they have seen fit to put Todd Vandermyde at the pointy end of the spear on this as a full time lobbyist for IL gun owners. Todd does a great job and you can bet he'd appreciate a "thanks" anytime. (You can thank him at the Illinois Carry link below)

Join Illinois Carry and donate if you can afford it. Otherwise, participate in the forums and ask how you can help in any way, someone will gladly show you the ropes.

Contact info for the members of House Ag. and Conservation Committee:
http://www.ilga.gov/house/committees/members.asp?GA=97&committeeID=922

Further info on the IL General Assembly: http://www.ilga.gov/

Illinois State Rifle Association and more info on IGOLD: http://isra.org/

National Rifle Association: http://www.nra.org

Illinois Carry: http://www.illinoiscarry.com

Let's keep the ball rolling!

Let's take a moment

I've been unable to post since Sunday, but I wanted to take a minute and pay tribute to Frank Buckles, who left this world on February 27, 2011.

Mr. Buckles was the last living American Veteran of WWI and his passing marks the end of an era.

Although never directly involved in combat, he volunteered to serve - even lying about his age to gain entry into the Army.

Mr. Buckles also spent 3 1/2 years in a Japanese prison camp as a civilian during WWII, so to say that his  is an interesting story is a gross understatement.

I'll leave it to the pros to tell you the rest of his story, you can find one good example of it here: http://www.carthagepress.com/news/county/x407383640/Buckles-last-WWI-doughboy-dies-at-110

Thank you for your service Sir, you will not be forgotten.

Hats off to these reporters!

I caught a link to a refreshing article and video of two Chicago Tribune staff reporters that decided to go hunting. First off, I'd like to say thanks for a video and article that has a positive message and doesn't trash firearms or their owners...not always what we see from that publication.

Glad to see that they went the extra mile to make this happen. They attended the DNR's Hunter Education Program and also received their FOID cards, then they sought out hands-on training. One of the reporters mentions (in the video) that "guns are very scary to me", so this is an especially big step for her and I'm glad to see her take it.

I'll be contacting them and extending an invitation to IGOLD and to learn more about the responsible use of firearms for sport and self defense. I'll be sure to update here if they accept.

Read the article and see the video:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/tribu/ct-perspec-0227-brotman-20110225,0,5969485.column

Just a quick link

I wanted to pass along a link to a new site that tracks the status of gun bills at their various stages in the IL legislature.

The site updates the status of bills, both the good ones and the bad ones, every 10 minutes. You can find a link placed on the right margin of the page as well.

Worth a look and THANKS to the author for alerting us to it.

What a (short) strange trip it's been.

Looks like the Chicago Mayoral election is a done deal, with Rahm Emanuel winning with approximately 55% of the vote at last check. He needed 50% +1 in order to avoid an April run off and it looks like he's managed it.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/22/breaking-cnn-projects-emanuel-wins-in-chicago/

I doubt that this really comes as a surprise to most folks, the media had crowned him some time ago and the public apparently followed right along. I read several "on the street" interviews with Chicago folks, all appeared to be in favor of Rahm, many because...... he knows President Obama.

I'm not sure how knowing the President qualifies one to be the mayor of the 3rd largest city in the nation, but apparently it carries weight with some folks. Personally, I would hope that no one noticed if I knew either of them (I don't, at any rate).

While it's too early to know how his election will affect the state of the 2nd Amendment in Chicago (and possibly the rest of IL), we can confidently say that Rahm is no friend of the 2A. I'm sure state legislators near the city will be clamoring to win his approval and willing to do anything to appease him....which will affect the rest of us.

How can we prevent this? Get on the phone or computer, (politely) call your elected folks and ask them to support and sponsor HB0148 and other Pro 2A legislation. Find out which ones may be on the fence and call them too, even if you don't live in their district....this affects the entire state and they should be reminded!

Call Senate President John Cullerton's office and ask him to support same. (217) 782-2728

All in all, today wasn't a bad one in the IL General Assembly. Six (6) Pro 2A bills passed through the House Ag & Conservation Committee with 13 "yes" and 1 "no" on each. More info and discussion can be found  HERE

Own a gun? Live in IL? Read on...

March 10, 2011 is the day, Springfield is the location, IGOLD is the event.

So what is IGOLD? Simply put, it's a planned day for IL gun owners to speak with their  Senators, Representatives and other elected officials (don't count on Gov. Quinn to make himself available) about the state of the Second Amendment within IL.

We get to ask them why IL is one of only two states without a provision for legal and responsible citizens to carry a concealed firearm.

We get to push them about the FOID card and ask why we even have it in the days of instant checks for firearm purchases. (It is my opinion that it exists solely to track gun owners in the event IL wants to come looking for your guns; since gun registration is un-Constitutional, they are registering owners)

We get to tell them that Chicago's continued violation of citizen's rights are not going unnoticed. Even after McDonald v Chicago there are multiple, ridiculous restrictions on firearms in Chicago homes.

We'll get to meet and talk with like minded folks from around the state about guns, shooting and hunting.

All these things and more.

Illinois continues to be one of the worst states in the country for gun owners, but we can improve things for ourselves and future generations to come if we make our voice heard.

If you are an IL resident  that owns firearms (or think you might like to one day) then you should attend if at all possible. For more info, please visit the link below:

http://igold.isra.org/

Don't care about Chicago politics?

Maybe you should.

Chicago's Mayoral race could result in Rahm Emanuel being seated when Daley is gone...and we just thought Daley was bad.

Rahm makes Daley look like a beginner in the quest to remove guns from the hands of law abiding citizens. He was involved with the former "Assault Weapons Ban" and would like to see it reinstated, he's ready to join in with Bloomberg and Mayors Against Illegal Guns and NO ONE in IL should consider their guns to be untouchable if he is elected. (Bloomberg's pet project actually wants to remove all guns, not just illegal ones)

http://elections.chicagotribune.com/qa/rahm-emanuel-88-given-the-supreme-court-ruling-last-year-what-would-a-revised-municipal-gun-control-law-look-like-that-would-pass-constitutional-muster

It is *rumored that Rahm disagrees with the SCOTUS decision that struck down Chicago's ban on handguns last year and wants to find a way around it....only a Chicago politico would try to circumvent the Supreme Court.

What can you do to prevent the Mayor of one city from messing up your Rights? Call your elected Rep. or Senator and ask them to support concealed carry in IL. Many of these bills would also prevent a municipality from overriding the State law, so everyone could defend themselves, even Chicagoans.

Here are links to some of the bills.

http://ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=148&GAID=11&GA=97&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=54705&SessionID=84

http://ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=112&GAID=11&GA=97&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=54662&SessionID=84

http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=82&GAID=11&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=54717&SessionID=84&GA=97

http://ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=2150&GAID=11&GA=97&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=58344&SessionID=84

For more info on how you can help to advance gun rights for ALL Illinois residents please visit
www.illinoiscarry.com

*As soon as I can verify that he has publicly stated this I will post a link to verification. Until then, consider it a rumor.