Conservative columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer delivered a brutal assessment about Attorney General Eric Holder’s troubles — ranging from Operation Fast and Furious back to the pardon of Mark Rich — during a Tuesday appearance on The O’Reilly Factor that is streaking across the Internet, and certain to titillate Northwest gun rights activists. ...
Read the whole story here from Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Wed May 16 13:31:42 CDT 2012
New Senate Bill Keeps The U.N. From Dictating U.S. Gun Laws!
As the United Nations Works Hard to Dismantle U.S. Gun Rights, Senate responds with bill to stop it even if treaty is signed.
Support Senator Moran! Gun owners and freedom-lovers have long known that the United Nations is committed to controlling the ownership of private firearms worldwide.
And Conservative Daily, along with other major gun rights organizations, has been adamant in trying to keep that from happening.
Now, the U.S. Senate has LISTENED to your activism and a vehicle exists to stop the UN in its tracks, even if this abomination is rammed down our throats, the federal government will be prohibited from spending a dime to make it happen.
Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) has introduced S.2205, a bill that is shocking in how it tracks with what we at Conservative Daily have been saying all along. ...
Read the whole story here from Conservative-Daily.com
Posted Wed May 16 13:29:16 CDT 2012
SAF, CALGUNS FOUNDATION SUE OAKLAND, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE
For Immediate Release: 5/14/2012
BELLEVUE, WA — The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit against the police departments in San Francisco and Oakland, California for refusing to return firearms to people who had been charged with crimes, but subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing.
SAF is joined in the lawsuit by the Calguns Foundation and two private citizens. The case is known as Churchill, et al. v. Harris, et al.
The police agencies apparently are relying on a state Department of Justice document that requires proof of ownership of each firearm before they are returned. But Don Kilmer, counsel for the plaintiffs, has noted that, “In California, the Evidence Code makes it clear that simple possession is proof of ownership of almost all types of common property, including firearms. The California Department of Justice is misleading police departments in such a way that they violate the rights of gun owners who were investigated and found to have not violated the law.” ...
Read the whole story here from Second Amendment Foundation
Posted Mon May 14 22:12:59 CDT 2012
Another ATF foul-up in Seattle, or business as usual?
The imprisonment of a convicted felon for sexual abuse of an 18-year-old woman made big news over the weekend in Seattle, but the detail that should set off alarms across the map is that this particular man — Joshua Allan Jackson — happened to be a paid informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
That’s the same federal agency under fire for Operation Fast and Furious; a scandal that led to a Congressional investigation, Capitol Hill hearings and now is on the brink of issuing a contempt citation to Attorney General Eric Holder for allegedly stonewalling the investigation. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Mon May 14 22:10:15 CDT 2012
Chicago's Rhonda Ezell: Public victory, Personal battle
Battling is nothing new for Chicago's Rhonda Ezell, a gallant lady with two missions in life: "Doing what I can do for the Second Amendment," and winning her very personal battle against a kidney ailment that has her waiting desperately for a transplant.
This 44-year-old Chicago native became the central figure in a gun rights victory that secured a preliminary injunction against Chicago's gun control ordinance. That ordinance banned shooting ranges inside the city limits, despite a requirement that citizens seeking a gun permit in the city must take a training course that includes shooting on a gun range.
Ezell, a life member of the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) and an acknowledged victim of crime in her South Side neighborhood, took one look at Chicago's ordinance about two years ago and quickly concluded, "This is nonsense."
As coincidence often plays a big role in the making of history, Ezell had become acquainted with ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson and David and Colleen Lawson, two of the plaintiffs in the celebrated case of McDonald v. City of Chicago. That was the case resulting in the Supreme Court ruling that incorporated the Second Amendment to the states.
She recalls that when the city—in response to its Supreme Court loss—first passed its hastily-drafted gun ordinance, she had just gotten out of the hospital. She saw the requirements of the law, contacted ISRA for details and just happened to encounter Pearson and the Lawsons at police headquarters. She told them about all the hoops she had jumped through in order to obtain a permit to keep a handgun in her home. "They decided my rights had been violated," she commented.
So, too, did the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF, which is the parent of Women & Guns Magazine), which had just won the high court's McDonald case, named for Chicago's Otis McDonald, a lead plaintiff in that historic action.
Indeed, according to an Appeals Court ruling handed down last year enjoining the city, agreed.
he case is known as Ezell v. City of Chicago, and it elevated Rhonda to the status of local celebrity in the gun rights movement, something she accepts with considerable modesty.
The lawsuit was a joint effort by SAF, ISRA and Action Target, Inc., along with Ezell and two other Chicago residents, William Hespen and Joseph Brown. Rejected by the lower court, it took a unanimous federal appeals court ruling to put the city in its place.
Said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb at the time: "The court is making it clear that cities cannot adopt firearms ordinances that are so deliberately restrictive that they make it impossible for citizens to exercise their rights under the Second Amendment."
The 3-0 ruling, written by Judge Diane S. Sykes, observed, "It's hard to imagine anyone suggesting that Chicago may prohibit the exercise of a free-speech or religious-liberty right within its borders on the rationale that those rights may be freely enjoyed in the suburbs. That sort of argument should be no less unimaginable in the Second Amendment context."
In a concurring opinion, Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner noted, "…the city may not condition gun ownership for self-defense in the home on a prerequisite that the City renders impossible to fulfill within the city limits."
How's that for a legal slap upside the head? It brought a big smile to Rhonda Ezell's face, one that she was wearing when she visited last year's Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) in Chicago. She was especially complimentary of the work done by attorneys Alan Gura of Virginia and David Sigale of Chicago. Being with them at the GRPC event last September was a genuine treat, because it was a moment of celebration, and she got to rub elbows with a lot of people who had followed the case closely.
"I've actually owned a firearm for a while," Ezell told W&G. "I was an average shooter, and I joined ISRA several years ago just so I could be familiar with the rules and regulations for owning a firearm. You want to do it legally, for the protection of your home and life." In that regard, Rhonda Ezell is reflective of the "every woman" not only in Chicago, but across the nation. Her home is her sanctuary, and after enduring an on-going battle with kidney failure, she is keenly aware of just how precious life is.
Very few people realized that while Ezell was fighting the good fight to secure their Second Amendment rights in the Windy City, she was fighting that personal health battle that, at one point, she nearly lost. Now she is determined to see her granddaughter, Marley Jordan Williams, graduate from college and have children of her own.
And just to prove how gutsy and determined Rhonda is, that granddaughter is but one year old. Translation: Rhonda Ezell plans to be around a while, a prospect that ought to cause shudders at City Hall, because she is not about to back down on her efforts to restore gun rights in Cook County. Meanwhile, she is on the waiting list at the University of Chicago Medical Center for a kidney transplant. She is hoping for a donor to contact Kathy Davis, the Living Donor coordinator at the medical center.
In what might be called a textbook case of understatement, Ezell told W&G that, "I thought the city was being a little harsh on Chicagoans with that ban in place."
She noted that the city has a history of high crime rates and that includes homicides and assaults. While her South Side neighborhood is relatively quiet, Rhonda acknowledged that within a few blocks, it is not unusual to hear gunfire.
What reasonable, rational citizen in an environment like that would not wish to have a firearm for personal protection in the home? It's a message that Rhonda has mastered over the past couple of years. She participated in the annual IGOLD rally and march at the state capitol in Springfield last year and plans to be there again for this year's event.
She has also taken her cause to the airwaves, appearing in an interview with Fox News and doing a guest stint on the Cliff Kelly talk show in Chicago.
With her kidney troubles, she admits that there are times when she is fatigued and it sometimes comes down to wondering "whether you will wake up and have a good day or a bad day."
"It leaves me vulnerable," she acknowledged. "There are limitations. You accept the fact that you are no longer the person you used to be. That's hard on anyone."
It is not so hard, however, that Rhonda and her co-plaintiffs in the Chicago lawsuit, and attorneys Gura and Sigale, didn't quickly conclude that when the city adopted its original gun control ordinance, several things were haywire by design. Chief among those was the shooting range requirement coupled with a ban on gun ranges. But there are other problems with the city's procedures that leave Ezell rolling her eyes.
"What I think has been wrong with the law so far," she observed, "is the fact that you have to pay a lot of money in fees, just to comply. The city also wants to re-do all the background checks, even though you already go through a background check when you apply for a state Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card."
Duplication of effort and high costs, she is convinced, were thrown in by the city to discourage people like her from exercising their recently-regained civil right to have a gun, especially a handgun.
She thinks the city is missing a huge opportunity to generate revenue and bring business to the city, because shooting ranges will bring plenty of traffic. She believes that if Illinois adopts a concealed carry permit system, it will be a boon.
"It is the last piece of the puzzle," Rhonda explained. "That's going to make it (shooting range development) more marketable. People are going to want to go to a gun range and practice because they have to comply with the ordinance." If you build it, as the saying goes, people will come.
Her case might one day be remembered as a cornerstone element in making all of this happen. Rhonda looks at that philosophically.
"Being a part of that is such a big thing," she admits. "When they see your face and hear your name, you are proud to be part of it and do something positive." ...
Read the whole story here by Woman and Guns, By Dave Workman, Contributing Editor
Posted Fri May 11 14:59:36 CDT 2012
BREAKING: Gowdy follows through on threat to cut DoJ funding, but…
Following through on a threat made to this column and to Fox News, South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy on Tuesday introduced an amendment — passed by voice vote in the House of Representatives — cutting $1 million from the Justice Department’s appropriation for FY 2013.
Gowdy told this column that he would pursue that avenue because of Attorney General Eric Holder’s continual stalling and failures to provide tens of thousands of document pages requested and subpoenaed by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of which Gowdy is a member.
In his freshman term, Gowdy — a former federal prosecutor — told the Gun Rights Examiner bluntly that one way or the other, Holder will comply with the subpoenas by the Memorial Day weekend. The clock is ticking and Gowdy has just demonstrated that he was not bluffing. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Tue May 8 20:57:10 CDT 2012
ISRA Announcement! SOMETHING MORE FUN THAN “OCCUPY CHICAGO"
If you’d rather not spend May 19th with a bunch of stinking hippies, anarchists, gun haters, and communists, then we have just the event for you!
Saturday, May 19th is “Savage Day” at the ISRA’s world-class rifle range in Bonfield. This very special event is one that no shooting enthusiast should miss! And, best of all, it’s FREE!
Representatives of Savage Arms will be on hand at the Range from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM to demonstrate the company’s new line of rifles, including the innovational Lady Hunter series. Attendees who hold valid FOID cards will actually be able to test fire the latest Savage models at no charge. Our friends at Hornady Manufacturing are supplying ammunition for this event.
So, while the America-haters are “occupying” Chicago on May 19th, why not come down to the ISRA Range and do something uniquely American like celebrate the 2nd Amendment?
We’ll be waiting for you!
Here’s the details:
WHAT: Savage Day
WHEN: Saturday, May 19, 2012, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM WHERE: ISRA Rifle Range, 1589N 7000W Road, Bonfield, IL. The Range is essentially midway between Route 17 and Route 113 on Warner Bridge Road. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – RAIN OR SHINE ...
Posted Tue May 8 20:53:21 CDT 2012
N. CAROLINA LETS EMERGENCY POWERS RULING STAND, ADDING ANOTHER SAF 2A VICTORY
For Immediate Release: 5/8/2012
BELLEVUE, WA – North Carolina’s failure to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that struck down the state’s emergency power to ban firearms and ammunition outside the home during a declared emergency adds one more Second Amendment victory to the court record being established by the Second Amendment Foundation.
“When the anti-gun lobby claims that courts have not struck down any laws on Second Amendment grounds,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “they deliberately ignore the fact that the District of Columbia’s handgun ban was overturned. Likewise, Chicago’s ban was stricken by McDonald v. City of Chicago, as was the city’s ban on gun ranges. Maryland’s draconian regulations on concealed carry were struck down, and so was the Massachusetts ban on firearms ownership by legal alien residents. Part of Omaha’s registration law was overturned, and now North Carolina’s emergency powers gun ban has fallen. ...
Read the whole story here from Second Amendment Foundation
Posted Tue May 8 19:30:41 CDT 2012
Bellevue's SAF carves another notch in legal sixgun
Bellevue’s Second Amendment Foundation has added another victory in its stated mission of “Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time” with Monday’s “win by default” over the State of North Carolina’s emergency powers statutory gun prohibition.
Washington has a similar law that allows the governor to prohibit the carrying of firearms outside the home or place of business during a declared state of emergency. Following last week’s May Day mayhem in downtown Seattle, anti-gun Mayor Mike McGinn ordered police to confiscate “any weapon,” a move that ignited the firearms community, even though it was reported by this column that the ban was not targeting firearms. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Tue May 8 19:24:22 CDT 2012
Audit: Illinois FOID card system for buying guns and ammo is broken
For more than four decades, Illinois' Firearm Owners Identification card has been viewed as a first line of defense for protecting the public by trying to keep guns out of the hands of the most dangerous in society.
But a first-ever state audit of the program has found the safety net weakened by bureaucratic loopholes and erroneous and incomplete data that could allow the seriously mental ill and others to keep or get a FOID card to buy firearms and ammunition. ...
New national alliance for armed citizens announced: ACA
A new alliance of industry and armed citizens has been announced with the goal of providing ordinary gun owners the opportunity to “practice, train and become familiar with the use of concealed carry handguns and other personal defense firearms.”
The Armed Citizen Alliance (ACA) should get immediate attention from Pacific Northwest shooters whose primary purpose for owning a gun is personal protection, and there are hundreds of thousands of them. In Washington, some 360,000 citizens have active concealed pistol licenses. Neighboring Oregon, as this column recently noted, has more than 152,000 licensed citizens. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Sat May 5 08:27:33 CDT 2012
Russian Gun Group Joins IAPCAR's Global Gun Rights Coalition
BELLEVUE, Wash., May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights (IAPCAR) added Russia's The Right to Arms as its newest member working to protect and expand the right to keep and bear arms around the globe. Right to Arms joins a coalition of 20 other groups from 11 countries on five different continents that represent millions of firearm owners and citizens concerned about civilian arms rights.
"IAPCAR is quickly expanding as the premier international arms rights organization with groups like Right to Arms as new allies in securing the human right to keep and bear arms," said IAPCAR executive director, Philip Watson. "The push for civilian arms rights continues to grow at a fast pace as this week we've added ANARMA of Spain and now Right to Arms of Russia as new members," Watson observed.
"It is a great honor for our group to join IAPCAR," said Right to Arms chairman Maria Butina. As Russia's highest profile gun rights advocacy organization, Right to Arms also runs the popular website (http://vooruzhen.ru/).
Julianne Versnel, director of operations for the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Alan Gottlieb, Chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), established IAPCAR to serve as a vehicle to unify arms rights groups against international threats to the human right of self-defense and the legitimate use of guns. ...
Sign of the times: In West Seattle, criminals are on notice
Some industrious West Seattle resident has fashioned a couple of crude signs and stapled them as a warning to residential burglars and other ne’er-do-wells with this message: “Welcome Criminals. Loaded guns are waitin’.”
Roughly translated the season is open, there is no license required and no bag limit.
The sign, posted at the intersection of 30th and Henderson in Westwood, leaves no doubt that its author is sending a message. A story published on the popular West Seattle Blog is matter-of-fact and not nearly as colorful as many of the comments in response from readers. ...
Read the whole story here. by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Tue May 1 23:15:16 CDT 2012
If what MSNBC says is true, they should want less gun control.
Show your support! Hear about Right-To-Carry efforts in Illinois, hear from women who faced life endangering situations! With Q&A session. No charge to attend.
Come to Buffalo Grove!
The link above goes to the entry in the ISRA Calendar.
Posted Fri Apr 27 09:54:34 CDT 2012
Hello, Illinois? Your Congressman Is on the Line
WASHINGTON — In an institution hampered by perpetual uncertainty, there are a few comforting givens on Capitol Hill.
Bean soup is always on the Senate cafeteria menu. Reporters stand unceasingly idle behind a string of red velvet ropes, waiting to shove a recorder in the face of a senator departing the floor.
And Representative Tim Johnson, Republican of Illinois, perpetually paces the Capitol hallways, a cellphone pressed to his ear as he talks to constituents, whom he calls all day long, one by one, just to say hello.
He calls them as he walks to go vote, plowing through the Longworth House Office Building, then traversing the Capitol Rotunda and zooming beyond his colleagues, a phone pressed tightly to his right ear as if it grew there.
He calls them as he wanders through his district’s shopping malls and the parks near the Capitol, his staff chasing alongside with large binders, a mobile virtual office. ...
Read the whole story here from the New York Times online
Posted Tue Apr 24 15:59:09 CDT 2012
Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in the U.S.
From Carbondale to Rockford to Chicago, with E. St. Louis taking the #1 spot, Illinois has many cities in this top 100 most dangerous cities.
Granny Lulu Campbell Thwarts 2 Would-be Robbers -- By Getting In A Shootout With Them (VIDEO)
Authorities in Georgia say a grandmother foiled a robbery attempt by two armed men by getting into a shootout with them, injuring one man.
Police told The Telegraph that Lulu Campbell just dropped off her grandson at her daughter’s house early Saturday morning when someone demanded money outside her car, threatening to shoot her. ...
The bank that absorbed Seattle-based SeaFirst Bank back in 1983 has allegedly taken an action that might resonate in downtown Seattle, but to the American firearms community it’s a declaration of war, and gun owners are evidently poised to strike back.
Bank of America is alleged to have advised McMillan Fiberglass Stocks that, because it now manufactures firearms, its business is no longer welcome. The bank has denied the allegation. It's quickly becoming a case of "he said/he said," with some gun owners expressing skepticism, others accepting the report as true.
The report sizzled across cyberspace over the weekend has spread Mondays morning to Jim Shepherd’s The Outdoor Wire, and HotAir.com. It has ignited a discussion on GunRightsMedia.com, Northwest Firearms and other forums. A story under my byline also appears in TheGunMag.com. ...
Read the whole story here from Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Mon Apr 23 13:43:01 CDT 2012
Remington Fires Back at NBC for False Safety Claim
(GunReports.com) -- NBC continues to attack Remington and the firearms industry through sensational and factually inaccurate reporting, Remington Arms Co. recently asserted.
According to a Remington company release, on April 11, 2012, NBC News anchor Brian Williams again demonstrated NBC’s anti-gun agenda with the claim that the Model 870, Model 1100 and other Remington firearms have a design flaw. The company said that claim is demonstrably false and Remington stands fully behind the safety and reliability of the most popular shotguns in the world.
The Remington statement said, "It wasn’t enough for NBC to attack over 20 million Remington firearms; they also called the Second Amendment into question by suggesting that there is a need for increased government regulation of firearms.
"Model 870 and 1100 owners know the truth – these shotguns are used extensively under the most demanding conditions. Tens of billions of rounds have been fired through these firearms, which are valued for their performance and durability by millions of hunters, shooters, law enforcement and military personnel who have relied on Remington.
"As the basis for its attacks, NBC continues to rely upon paid “experts” who have been repeatedly hired by plaintiff’s attorneys to testify against Remington and at least 16 other firearms manufacturers. The facts show that the Model 870 and 1100 are two of the most reliable shotguns ever produced – only one lawsuit has been filed in the last seven years and no litigation is pending against the trigger mechanisms of these firearms.
"Deceptively editing and ignoring readily available documents and video evidence to drive NBC’s agenda is an all too familiar tactic. Remington stands by the reliability and safety of its firearms and will fully respond to NBC’s attempt to disparage these iconic American products." ...
Firearms Industry Helps Lead Economic Recovery; New Study Shows Growth in Jobs, Taxes Paid and Sales
NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Earlier today, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, released a newly commissioned report detailing double-digit gains in jobs and other data showing the industry has been a leader in the nation's economic recovery. The report can be viewed at http://nssf.org/impact.
Firearms industry members were briefed on such remarkable statistics as the 30.6 percent increase in jobs between 2008 and 2011, a 66.5 percent increase in economic impact and a 66.5 percent increase in federal taxes paid by industry companies. Armed with the good news of the report and recognizing that jobs and the economy are of major importance in the November elections, industry executives are scheduled to meet today with elected officials during the NSSF-sponsored Congressional Fly-In.
"During difficult economic times and high unemployment rates nationally, our industry actually grew and created more than ten thousand new, well-paying jobs," said NSSF President Steve Sanetti. "Our industry is proud to be one of the bright spots in this economy." ...
Read the whole story here from the National Shooting Sports Foundation
Posted Thu Apr 19 18:20:36 CDT 2012
CCRKBA TO BLOOMBERG: ‘IT’S NOT IMPORTED GUNS, IT’S YOUR EXPORTED CRIMINALS’
BELLEVUE, WA — The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today challenged anti-gun New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to stop allowing Empire State criminals to export crime to other states, rather than blaming his city’s crime problem on out-of-state gun laws.
“How many crimes have been committed in other states by people from New York,” queried CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Instead of complaining about guns imported into his city, by Big Apple criminals, he should be concentrating on the crime that those thugs export to other states. The problem is not out of state guns, the problem is in-state criminals, and he knows it.”
Bloomberg has been campaigning for other states to abolish their strong self-defense laws, yet he has done nothing to stop criminals from attacking the very citizens who need those laws and the protections they include.
“Mayor Bloomberg’s policies are all one-dimensional and his agenda is directed toward the wrong people,” Gottlieb stated. “He has constantly harped about gun dealers and gun shows in other states, but he has not said a word about the people in his own front yard who are providing a market for illegal guns; the people who go to other states, commit illegal transactions there, and occasionally victimize local residents while they’re at it. ...
Washington, DC - These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters from April 9th – 12th, 2012 about gun rules and regulations.
The NRA is a reasonably popular organization. Unsurprisingly, favorability towards the NRA is stronger among Republicans but a majority of Democrats have a favorable attitude towards the organization.
As comparison points, we also asked about the NAACP, ACLU and AARP. AARP has the strongest favorability rates of the four organizations. Favorability towards the ACLU and NAACP are both strongly influenced by partisan ID.
Americans are broadly supportive of restrictions or regulations on gun ownership. Only 6% say there should be no or very few restrictions on gun ownership. 62% oppose allowing people to bring a firearm into a church, workplace or retail establishment.
91% support background checks for gun purchasers. 69% support limiting the number of guns a person could purchase in a given time frame. 74% support laws limiting the sale of automatic weapons.
However, Americans are also broadly supportive of a number of pro-gun laws including:
Majorities support concealed carry laws and allowing the use of deadly force, both in homes and public places. Framing this discussion, Americans remain concerned with crime and are concerned about what is to be done about it. Almost half of Americans think crime rates are going up in their communities. Significant majorities do not think police can stop all crime from happening As a consequence, large majorities believe regular people need to step up to prevent crimes (leading to the Trayvon Martin incident). ...
BREAKING! Zimmerman will be charged in Trayvon death: WaPost
George Zimmerman, at the center of a raging controversy over his fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, will be charged in that case, according to Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey, the Washington Post is reporting.
The announcement came after weeks of public outcry that stretched all the way to the Pacific Northwest. Demonstrations and vigils demanding Zimmerman’s arrest have been held in Seattle and Tacoma, and the discussion about the shooting has been a hot topic on Northwest gun rights forums.
According to the Washington Post, quoting an unnamed law enforcement official, it is not clear what specific charge or charges Zimmerman might face. Corey plans to make a formal announcement perhaps as soon as Wednesday afternoon. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Wed Apr 11 15:31:00 CDT 2012
Holder’s new challenge: Color blindness; Today’s NRA bash
Wednesday’s Washington Times expects a great deal from Eric Holder, an attorney general who has spent the past year stonewalling Congress on the deadly Operation Fast and Furious.
As Barack Obama’s announced May 10 fund-raising trek to Seattle and then Los Angeles looms larger, Northwest gun owners are losing confidence that anything will be done to force Holder to act on a scandal that could be more devastating than Richard Nixon’s Watergate. Why? Nobody was killed because of Watergate. With Fast and Furious, we have a body count that includes Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, and there may be more to come. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Wed Apr 11 15:26:00 CDT 2012
State Indoor Pistol Match in May in Elgin: Openings Remain
There is one spot open now for the Saturday 1:00 relay and 5 spots open for the Saturday 5:00 relay. If anyone is interested please contact John McGuire.
ISRA Teams with Project Appleseed on New Billboards
You will see these billboards around the state this month, and before you cross over into St Louis for the NRA meeting. (click each picture for a higher resolution version)
Posted Mon Apr 9 18:20:59 CDT 2012
Audit: FOID program ‘limited’ in protecting safety
SPRINGFIELD – State oversight of gun ownership in Illinois is “limited” in its ability to safeguard the public because of poor follow-through, inadequate collection of mental health records and tardy action on permit applications by “overwhelmed” Illinois State Police officials, an audit Thursday reported.
The state police program for issuing and monitoring Firearm Owners Identification cards falls woefully short in gathering court records on potentially mentally ill gun owners, confiscates only 30 percent of the FOID cards that police revoke, and doesn’t report critical information to federal authorities required by a criminal background database, the report found.
Lawmakers ordered Auditor General William Holland’s assessment last spring after the uproar caused by an Associated Press public-records request for names of the state’s FOID-card holders.
State police denied the AP inquiry, but the attorney general said the records should be released, prompting a successful Illinois State Rifle Association lawsuit and pushing legislators to ban disclosure but calling for a study to ensure there is proper gun-permit supervision. ...
Management Audit of the Department of State Police's Administration of the Firearm Owner's Identification Act
This audit was requested last year by the IL House as a result of discussion about the FOID card and its effectiveness and FOID holder privacy. Here are downloads to the audit reports:
Here are some telling findings from the sysnopsis:
• The Illinois State Police’s Firearms Services Bureau did not approve all FOID cards in the required 30 days for the 903,139 applications received during 2008, 2009, and 2010. Over the three year period, 566,616 of 879,906 (64%) applications were approved within 30 days. In 2008, 40 percent of cards were approved within 30 days. The processing times improved to 80 percent in 2009 and decreased to 70 percent in 2010.
• ISP did not have enough Customer Service Representatives to handle the volume of calls that are received by the Bureau related to the FOID card program. According to call logs provided by ISP, during the last quarter of 2010, 25,131 of 29,420 calls (85%) were not answered by ISP.
• According to documentation provided by ISP, from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2011, the State Police spent $526,919 on overtime for FOID card processing.
What does Pike County's concealed carry vote really mean?
The Illinois State Police and the Pike County Sheriff’s Department have issued a statement regarding last week’s concealed carry vote in Pike County.
Pike County Sheriff Paul Petty and Illinois State Police Lt. Brad Lacey wanted to explain the ramification of last week’s overwhelming vote to support concealed carry in Pike County.
Many of the questions include if residents can now begin carrying a gun now and what is the next step in the process.
“Some have indicated they are confused on what exactly it means for us in Pike County,” the statement reads.
More from the statement:
“The initiative to put this question on the ballot was to, in fact, determine that support exists with voters regarding the Conceal-Carry issue. Obviously, the vote has cleared that up in an overwhelming manner.”
“Secondly, the placing of this topic on the ballot is only the beginning of the process to have Constitutional Carry of Arms in Illinois. We can't ignore our current State legislation that controls or prohibits carrying concealed weapons.” ...
Challenge to Cook County 'assault weapon' ban to proceed
Today, in a development that will potentially carry large implications for not just northern Illinois, but right here in St. Louis as well, the Illinois Supreme Court overruled lower courts' dismissal of a lawsuit challenging Cook County's ban of "assault weapons," thus allowing the challenge to proceed. From CBS News:
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that a challenge to the Cook County assault weapons ban may proceed, reversing a lower court decision.
The court on Thursday ruled that lower courts were wrong to throw out the challenge. The Supreme Court says it wants the trial court to hear evidence on whether assault weapons get the same Second Amendment protections as handguns.
The case, Wilson v. Cook County, challenges the county's 1993 "assault weapon" ban, which was expanded to ban even more firearms (along with magazines that hold eleven or more rounds) in 2006. Filed in 2007, the suit was thrown out by the circuit court at the county's request. After the plaintiffs' appeal to the appellate court, the suit was again dismissed. Now, though, the state Supreme Court has ruled that a Second Amendment challenge to bans of so-called "assault weapons" has enough merit to require a trial. ...
Read the whole story here from Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Thu Apr 5 12:42:19 CDT 2012
Court says challenge to Cook Co. assault weapon ban can proceed
Gun rights advocates scored a victory Thursday when the Illinois Supreme Court decided to allow a challenge to Cook County's assault weapons ban to proceed.
The court ruled that lower courts were wrong to throw out the challenge. The Supreme Court said it wants the trial court to hear evidence on whether assault weapons get the same Second Amendment protections as handguns.
Cook County banned the sale or possession of assault weapons in 1993. The ordinance included details of what constituted an assault weapon and examples of banned guns, but it was aimed at “high-capacity, rapid-fire” rifles and pistols. The law was expanded in 2006 to ban large ammunition magazines.
The ban was challenged by three Cook County residents who said they had perfectly valid reasons to own the prohibited weapons, from hunting to target shooting to personal protection. They argued that the law was too vague and too broad, with little connection to the goal of increasing public safety. ...
Read the whole story here. from the Chicago Tribune
Posted Thu Apr 5 10:17:22 CDT 2012
Wilson v. County of Cook, 2012 IL 112026
Appellate citation: 407 Ill. App. 3d 759.
JUSTICE THEIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Chief Justice Kilbride and Justices Freeman, Thomas, Garman, Karmeier, and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion.
The Illinois Supreme Court held that a second amendment challenge to Cook County’s ban on assault weapons could proceed in circuit court and should not have been dismissed at the pleading stage for failure to state a cause of action. No trial has yet occurred.
At issue is the constitutional validity of a Cook County ordinance enacted in 2006 and renamed the Blair Holt Assault Weapons Ban in 2007. Various plaintiffs opposed to the ordinance filed a preenforcement action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief based on their facial challenges to the ordinance’s constitutionality. It was claimed that the ordinance violates due process because of vagueness, denies equal protection, and is in violation of the right to bear arms, which is protected by the second amendment to the United States Constitution. The defendants responded with a motion to dismiss, which the circuit court granted. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal in 2011, and the plaintiffs appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.
In this decision, it was held that the dismissal of the complaint counts alleging denial of due process and equal protection could stand, and the results reached in the courts below were upheld. However, as to the second amendment issue, the supreme court took a different view. At this early stage of the litigation, in the procedural posture of this case, it cannot be said conclusively whether “assault weapons” as defined by the ordinance fall within or outside the scope of the rights protected by the second amendment. This question requires an empirical inquiry that goes beyond the scope of both the record in the current litigation and judicial notice. The supreme court said that, at this point in the lawsuit, it cannot be said that no set of facts can be proved that would entitle the plaintiffs to relief. Neither has the County had an opportunity to present evidence to justify a nexus between the ordinance and the governmental interest it seeks to protect. Therefore, the circuit court’s dismissal of the complaint count based on the second amendment was improper and was reversed, as was that part of the appellate court’s judgment which affirmed the dismissal.
The cause was remanded to the circuit court of Cook County for further proceedings. ...
Read the transcript here from the Illinois Supreme Court Summary
Posted Thu Apr 5 09:32:00 CDT 2012
Supreme Court ruling on assault weapons ban expected Thursday
SPRINGFIELD — The state’s top court is poised to rule on Cook County’s assault weapons ban Thursday in a case that will determine the fate of one of Illinois’ signature gun-control laws.
Attorneys challenging the ban argued that the county’s ordinance — enacted in 1993 and extended in 2006 — is too vague, based on faulty information and should be reconsidered in light of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned Chicago’s ban on handguns.
The county ordinance specifically outlaws the sale or possession of “any assault weapon or large capacity magazine.” It describes several traits of prohibited weapons — such as a protruding grip or a shroud attached to the barrel — and specifies several types of guns that are in violation of the ordinance.
“It bans the most popular hunting rifles … that there are in the country,” Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, told the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday. ...
The IGOLD ISRA Raffle Winner has been announced! Ticket #06169 is the lucky winner. Thank you for your participation. If your not already a member, please help us fight for your gun rights and sign up now by clicking the link below! ...
US District Court Judge William D. Stiehl granted the State of Illinois's Motion to Dismiss yesterday in the NRA-ISRA challenge to Illinois carry laws. The case, Shepard v. Madigan, was brought in US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Judge Stiehl granted the state's motion to "dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim". At the same time he denied the plaintiffs' motions.
The NRA has indicated that they will appeal the ruling:
"Late today, a federal district court in Illinois wrongly ruled that the Second Amendment does not protect a right to carry firearms for self-protection outside the home. The NRA funded this challenge to Illinois' ban on citizens' ability to carry firearms legally outside their homes and businesses for self-defense, and will also be supporting an immediate appeal to the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals--and to the Supreme Court if necessary.
In separate interviews this week, Congressman Darrell Issa has repeatedly accused the White House of interfering with his investigation of Operation Fast and Furious by not allowing a potentially key witness to testify about what he knew, and perhaps who he told, during his time on the White House’s national security staff.
The allegation comes as Northwest gun rights activists have shown renewed interest in the gun trafficking scandal. They are following the controversy closely at GunRightsMedia.com, WaGuns, Shooters Northwest, Northwest Firearms and Seattle Guns forums. Many are NRA members. Most of them, perhaps all of them, will vote this fall, and the Fast and Furious scandal, run by an administration that blamed gun owners, gun dealers and gun laws for violence in Mexico, has their blood pressure up. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Fri Mar 30 17:50:50 CST 2012
SAF WINS 2A CASE IN MASS, STRIKING DOWN GUN BAN FOR LEGAL ALIENS
For Immediate Release: 3/30/2012
BELLEVUE, WA – A Federal District Court Judge in Massachusetts today granted summary judgment in a Second Amendment Foundation case challenging that state’s denial of firearms licenses to permanent resident aliens.
U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodcock concluded that “…the Massachusetts firearms regulatory regime as applied to the individual plaintiffs, contravenes the Second Amendment.”
The case involves two Massachusetts residents, Christopher Fletcher and Eoin Pryal, whose applications for licenses to possess firearms in their homes for immediate self-defense purposes were denied under a state law that does not allow non-citizens to own handguns. SAF was joined in the case by Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc. and the two individual plaintiffs. The case is Fletcher v. Haas.
“This is our fourth court victory this month in our campaign to win back firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “It is one more step toward repairing decades of Second Amendment erosion.” ...
Read the whole story here. from the Second Amendment Foundation
Posted Fri Mar 30 17:49:18 CST 2012
A Message From State Senator Linda Holmes, 42nd District...
Dear Friends, Just a few short weeks ago, my colleagues and I started a petition drive to send a message to Illinois' legislative leaders: oppose oppressive Chicago gun laws! We set a goal of delivering the signatures of 10,000 law-abiding citizens to Illinois' legislative leaders.
Not only did we surpass our goal, but yesterday, downstate State Senators John Sullivan (D-Rushville), William Haine (D-Alton), and Gary Forby (D-Benton) delivered 521 pages with almost 13,000 signatures directly to the President of the Illinois State Senate, State Senator John Cullerton (D-Chicago).
On behalf of myself and my fellow Senators who have been working closely throughout this process, my colleagues met with President Cullerton to share our message and express opposition to recently proposed legislation to tax ammunition and register hand guns with the government.
This legislation is still in the House of Representatives, but we will continue to watch it closely. Should either piece of legislation move over to the Senate, we will continue to work for its defeat.
Thank you for your hard work and continued engagement on this issue. Straight from your mouths to the desk of the President of the Illinois Senate, your message has been delivered. ...
SAF VICTORY STRIKES DOWN NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY POWERS GUN BAN
Congratulations to our friends at the Second Amendment Foundation.
The Federal Court got it wrong in Moore, but two recent cases won by SAF, show that the Second Amendment does NOT end at your doorstep.
A recent Federal case in Maryland and now this federal case in North Carolina buttress each other, that the Second Amendment's Core Right extends outside the home.
The Illinois legislature should stop dragging their feet as the only state in the Union that does not alow some form of concealed carry outside the home, or risk losing the UUW / AUUW Statutes in the pending litigation of Shepard v Madigan, or the appeal of Moore v Madigan.
Call your legislators today and let them know that if a court strikes down the UUW / AUUW statutes, that you will not support regressing Illinois from a Constitutional Carry state to one that requires the Government's permission.
The time to pass Concealed Carry in Illinois is now, House Bill 148 has the support of Law Enforcement and firearms rights advocates. Pass it NOW.
For Immediate Release: 3/29/2012 BELLEVUE, WA – A federal district court judge in North Carolina has just struck down that state’s emergency power to impose a ban on firearms and ammunition outside the home during a declared emergency, ruling that the provision violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
The case, Bateman v. Purdue, was brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, Grass Roots North Carolina FFE and three individual plaintiffs. Defendants in the case were Gov. Beverly Purdue and Reuben F. Young, secretary of the state’s Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, in their official capacities.
In his opinion, Judge Malcolm J. Howard, senior United States district judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina, wrote, “…the court finds that the statutes at issue here are subject to strict scrutiny…While the bans imposed pursuant to these statutes may be limited in duration, it cannot be overlooked that the statutes strip peaceable, law abiding citizens of the right to arm themselves in defense of hearth and home, striking at the very core of the Second Amendment.”
“When SAF attorney Alan Gura won the Heller case at the Supreme Court,” noted SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “the gun ban crowd said that we were a ‘one-trick-pony’ and that we would never knock out another gun law. Well, SAF has now knocked out gun laws in Maryland, Illinois and North Carolina.
“We filed this lawsuit on the day we won the McDonald case against Chicago,” he added, “extending the Second Amendment to all 50 states. This was part of our strategy of winning firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time.” ...
Read the whole story here from the Second Amendment Foundation
Posted Thu Mar 29 13:12:20 CST 2012
Sign this petition!
Help Illinois' pro-gun legislators deliver a message in Springfield by signing this petition to join in The Fight Against Chicago's Anti-Gun Laws!
Chicago cop: ‘Your First Amendment rights can be terminated…’
A short-term detainment by police of two Chicago newsmen over the weekend as they worked a story about a 6-year-old child who was fatally shot is now flaring as film footage of events leading up to their confrontation include a comment by a one cop declaring:
"Your First Amendment rights can be terminated if you're creating a scene or whatever…"—WMAQ Chicago
What’s this got to do with gun rights and the Second Amendment? Keep reading.
According to the video footage, when a reporter asked the officer how the newsmen were creating a scene, the officer’s reaction was blunt:
"Your presence is creating a scene."
So that’s all it takes, huh? A reporter and cameraman were briefly held. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Tue Mar 20 12:42:22 CST 2012
Right-to-carry lowers violent crime
Tricia Bishop misrepresented my research as well as the debate over concealed-carry laws ("Gun laws' sketchy effect," March 11). She makes it appear that I am only "one economist" who claims to find that right-to-carry laws reduce violent crime.
By now, a vast body of research supports my results. Among peer-reviewed national studies by criminologists and economists, 18 find that right-to-carry laws reduce violent crime, 10 claim no effect, and just one claims one type of crime temporarily increases slightly. The possibility that permit holders might lead to more crime is easily evaluated by looking at how incredibly law-abiding they are, with them losing their permits for any firearms-related violations (usually trivial ones) at hundredths or thousandths of 1 percentage point.
Forty-one states currently have right-to-carry laws where permits are based on objective criteria, such as passing a criminal background check. These laws have worked well — so well that no state has chosen to repeal the law or even held legislative hearings to reconsider it.
CHICAGO (CBS) – A bizarre weekend where the high exceeded 80 degrees also brought a rash of violence across Chicago, which left at least nine people dead and some 40 others wounded.
The majority of shootings happened on the city’s South Side, but areas from West Rogers Park to Humboldt Park also saw gun violence. The youngest victim was a 6-year-old girl, who was likely the innocent victim of gang violence in the Little Village neighborhood. ...
Question [to the editors]: The Illinois House of Representatives will debate legislation that would make it legal for licensed gun owners to carry firearms. Would you support such a measure? ...
Excerpt: The IGOLD participants were, as usual, cooperative with and respectful to security staff and orderly within the building. At the reception afterward I spoke to a couple of the IGOLD officials. Their input from security was “no problems.” The streets that we marched on (with the police permit) and the capital grounds were kept free of litter or damage from the group.
More women have become interested in firearms for self-protection in recent years. The more they learn the stronger is their resolve to reject victim status. The ISRA is aware of this trend and is supportive of the women of Illinois. This is reflected in the fact that there was a greater number (as well as a greater proportion) of women in attendance at IGOLD this year. ISRA has added a number of programs specifically designed for these women in recent years. This year, for example, they have filled their scheduled “Women on Target” programs and are contemplating adding more. ...
Something of a surge of political bravado appears to be going on in the gun prohibition movement, not just in Washington with Ceasefire’s disarmament bus billboard campaign, but also in Wisconsin, where an anti-gun group wants access to the identifies of the state’s citizens who have concealed carry permits.
The Gun Mag.com is reporting that the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE) started pushing for a change in the Badger State’s carry law, which took effect only last Nov. 1. Currently, the law prohibits public access to the names of permit holders, of which there are now more than 83,000 out of some 97,000 applications. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Wed Mar 14 09:02:55 CST 2012
Bald eagles thwart plan for police gun range in Chicago
Police drop proposal after federally protected eagles choose to make site their home
Chicago police are scuttling plans for an outdoor shooting range on the Southeast Side less than a month after the discovery of the first bald eagle nest in the city since the 1880s, officials said Monday.
A pair of eagles have built a massive nest along the Calumet River next to a marshy industrial site that police have long coveted for a shooting range. The eagles' presence remained unknown until a bird-watcher spotted a mature adult and younger bird while touring the site last month with a public radio reporter, prompting a closer look by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. ...
Illinois Concealed Carry: Perhaps It Isn't Such A Bad Idea
It pains me to agree with the NRA but I've got to support the passage of concealed carry in the state of Illinois.
According to Chicago Tribune reporter Peter Nickeas' Twitter feed, the first ten days of March brought 51 people shot city wide with 9 of those shootings being fatal.
It doesn't take a statistician to know that those aren't encouraging numbers going into the warm weather months.
While Mayor Emanuel may have delivered on his campaign promise to put over 1,000 more police officers on the streets, backlogs in Englewood and shutting down a part of Clark Street this past weekend clearly underscore the need for additional personnel.
Clearly the Chicago Police Department has their hands full right now.
Criminals who are emboldened by the lack of officers and the litigious nature of our society have only just begun to run roughshod over those of us who aren't predators. With the resources they have, I feel the police are doing a good job.
But make no mistake; they aren't there to protect you.
With these jokers taking potshots at uniformed police officers they can barely protect themselves---and they're armed.
A few days before Christmas and on the same day as Deshawn Moody's killing, one of my neighbors was robbed in front of our home. It was the second such robbery in the past 3 years.
He wisely did what anyone of us would have done in his situation. He gave up the money. ...
Mayor Rahm Emanuel was in Peoria earlier this week talking about how Chicago and Downstate politicians need to stop fighting so much.
“The politics of the past where we used to play Chicago versus downstate is over. It doesn’t serve the people of Illinois,” Emanuel said, adding, “It’s not working anymore.”
I’ve lived in Chicago, but I was born Downstate. I have good friends and close family members in just about every part of Illinois. So, I’ve always been bothered by this divisive regionalism that has plagued our state since Chicago became a real city and the two regions began fighting over the spoils.
I don’t actually think that Downstaters really hate Chicago, or vice versa. It’s just an ingrained part of our state’s politics. The regions have fought each other for control for more than 150 years, and those battles have been handed down from generation to generation, always reignited by politicians hoping to win elections.
Mayor Emanuel’s call for a truce contained some nice words, and he seemed like he meant them. But he showed not long ago that he has problems understanding how to go about bringing the peace he says he wants.
One of the biggest issues in downstate politics is guns. Downstate legislators in both parties use the issue to whip up their constituents so they’ll ignore their other shortcomings. The same thing is done by Chicago politicians, only in the opposite direction. ...
SMACKDOWN: Gun rights prevail as WA Supremes deny Seattle’s appeal
The Washington State Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the City of Seattle’s request for review in its loss to the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association in a case that struck down the city’s attempt to ban guns in city park facilities, in what was recognized as an effort to undercut Washington’s model preemption law.
Thus, the unanimous Appeals Court ruling against Seattle – announced last Oct. 31 – is allowed to stand and the state preemption statute, first passed in 1983 and strengthened in 1985, is affirmed. Seattle lost and gun owners won…big time. SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb noted:
“We are proud that the State Supreme Court panel, led by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, unanimously rejected Seattle’s flagrant attempt to override state law and violate the civil rights of citizens living in or visiting the city.” ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Thu Mar 8 14:13:23 CST 2012
Gun rights lawsuits: Court status of 9 challenges to city, state and county rules
Gun rights advocates are pursuing at least nine lawsuits against Chicago, Cook County and Illinois in an attempt to loosen some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country.
Rhonda Ezell v. City of Chicago
Originally, the federal lawsuit challenged Chicago's ban on shooting ranges. In July, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an order from a district court that had refused to overturn the ban. In response, the City Council amended its ordinance to allow gun ranges to exist under specific guidelines. Gun advocates are challenging those guidelines in U.S. District Court.
Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers v. City of Chicago
A federal lawsuit challenging the city's ban on the sale of firearms. It also addresses restrictions in the ordinance that prohibit people from having guns in their yards, garages or on their front porches, and the requirement that a license holder keep only one "assembled and operable" firearm in the home. The case is pending in U.S. District Court.
Second Amendment Arms v. City of Chicago
Challenges Chicago's ban on weapons dealers and gun stores as well as the ban on firearm transfers. It also seeks to clear all convictions before the 2010 Supreme Court ruling. The case is pending in U.S. District Court.
Shawn Gowder v. City of Chicago
A federal lawsuit claiming Gowder's constitutional right to bear arms was violated when he was denied a Chicago firearm permit because of a 1995 misdemeanor conviction for possessing a firearm on a public street. The case is pending in U.S. District Court.
John Bowley v. City of Chicago
Bowley sued the city in state court after he was denied a firearm permit because of a conviction in Ohio related to the illegal transport of a firearm in a car. In February, an Illinois Circuit Court judge ruled that the prior conviction does not disqualify an individual from receiving a permit. The city is deciding whether to appeal the ruling.
Michael Moore v. Lisa Madigan, et al.
Moore, the Second Amendment Foundation and IllinoisCarry.com sued to overturn the state ban on carrying concealed weapons in public. In January, a U.S. District Court judge granted the state's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The plaintiffs have appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mary E. Shepard and the Illinois State Rifle Association v. Lisa Madigan, et al.
Shepard sued to overturn the state ban on carrying concealed weapons in public. That case is pending in U.S. District Court.
Illinois v. Alberto Aguilar
In a bench trial, Aguilar was found guilty of one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon for carrying a loaded firearm in the backyard of a friend's home. The lawsuit claims the statute under which he was convicted is unconstitutional. The trial court and the 1st District Court of Appeals affirmed the statute. Aguilar appealed the case to the Illinois Supreme Court, where it is pending.
Matthew D. Wilson v. Cook County
The federal lawsuit challenges the county assault weapon ban, claiming that of the firearms banned, only a few are fully automatic and therefore regulated under federal law. The rest, the suit contends, are semiautomatic firearms and are not assault weapons. The case is awaiting a ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court. ...
A bombshell federal district court ruling in Maryland could pave the way for further Second Amendment challenges of state and local gun laws because the judge ruled that the right to keep and bear arms is not confined to one’s home, and that citizens do not need to provide a “substantial” reason for obtaining a carry permit, because the right to bear arms is all the reason one needs.
It’s another victory for the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, where Monday morning, SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb was ecstatic. He told this column that SAF's slogan, "Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time" is certainly proving to be the case.
The 23-page ruling, written by U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg for the U.S. District Court of Maryland has some hammers for Second Amendment opponents. Judge Legg was appointed to the court by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, demonstrating the importance of who is in the White House. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Mon Mar 5 15:06:21 CST 2012
Press Release: ISRA Offers Alternative Plan to Fund Trauma Centers
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):
It goes without saying that the ISRA and law-abiding firearm owners everywhere strongly oppose HB5167. That bill, introduced by Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), would slap a 2% sin tax on ammunition sales made in the state. Supposedly, the proceeds of that sin tax would be pooled to provide healthcare services to gang bangers, drug lords, and other indigent participants in urban violence.
Although the ISRA opposes HB5167, the association does see a need to provide trauma centers with relief from the financial burden they bear as the result of urban violence. In addressing that need, the ISRA is floating a proposal that provides badly needed financial relief to urban trauma centers, yet assesses the responsibility for providing that relief with greater fairness than does a tax on law-abiding citizens who happen to purchase ammunition.
Under the ISRA proposal, a combination of sales and property surtaxes would be applied on a pro rata basis based on the home ZIP Codes of violent offenders. Homes and businesses located in ZIP Codes home to high numbers of offenders would pay more in taxes than residents and businesses located in areas home to fewer offenders. Additional revenues could be realized by placing similar surtaxes on vehicle registrations, cell phone bills, and utility bills of persons living in ZIP Codes home to violent criminals. The ISRA believes that it is certainly more equitable to place the responsibility for funding the outcomes of urban violence close to home than it is to tax lawful citizens living hundreds of miles from the problem.
"Our proposal for funding trauma centers is the best example of 'fair taxation' to come along in many years," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. "Our proposed tax plan would encourage those closest to the problem to develop a solution. After imposition of our proposal, I'm quite sure that homeowners and businesspeople in high-tax areas would be highly motivated to reign in their fellow residents responsible for violent crime. A state-wide tax, such as that proposed under HB5167, takes the focus off the localized nature of violent crime. Dilution of the sense of responsibility for violent crime makes it less likely that an effective solution to the root causes will be found. It's the old 'carrot and stick' theory. If residents and businesses want to get out from under violent offender surtaxes, then they must band together to find a solution. Our tax plan would promote communities coming together for a common cause – and that's a good thing."
The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.
URGENT ALERT – EMANUAL/OBAMA MACHINE PLANS SNEAK ATTACK ON YOUR GUN RIGHTS
Your Attendance Urgently Needed at Massive Gun Rights Rally on March 7th
As many of you know, the Illinois House Executive
Committee sent two extremely anti-gun bills to the
floor yesterday:
HB5831 – this bill would tack a $65.00 tax on
every hand gun you own and require you to register
like a sex offender.
HB5167 – this bill would tack a 2% “Sin Tax” on
all ammunition sales in the state with the proceeds
from the tax going to a fund to help pay for a
healthcare program for gang bangers and drug lords.
EACH OF THESE TWO BILLS HAVE ONE PURPOSE AND ONE
PURPOSE ONLY – TO PUNISH LAW-ABIDING FIREARM OWNERS
The Emanuel/Obama gun haters aren’t being the least
bit bashful about their intent, they have made it
clear that they will “screw-over” gun owners by any
means possible.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP PRESERVE AND PROTECT YOUR
RIGHTS
1. Demonstrate your support for your gun rights –
attend IGOLD 2012 - Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day on
March 7th. See
http://igold.isra.org for further details.
2. Contact your State Representative and politely
inform him/her that you are a law-abiding firearm
owner and that you do not support taxing ammunition
and you do not support registering firearm owners
like sex offenders. Tell him/her that you expect to
see them vote AGAINST HB5831 and AGAINST HB5167 when
these antigun bills come to the floor. If you do not
know who your State Representative is, click this
link to go to the Illinois Board of Elections:
http://www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx
....
ISRA is reposting this information so you may see how your State Reps voted on HB148 last summer. Information for You on HB-148 - Family and Personal Protection Act: How Did Your Representative Vote?
excerpt: Without an official recording of the vote, some of you are left wondering how your Representative voted on the bill, perhaps
depending on who your Representative is or where your district is located.
Thanks to coverage of the Illinois General Assembly by Illinois Statehouse News, you
can see how the votes were cast yesterday before being pulled from consideration, in the image below. Green is "Yes", Red is "No" in the votes cast. This picture is
taken from a screenshot of a very short video that you can watch at Illinois Statehouse
News' YouTube Channel.
Now that you've seen how your Representative voted, what to do? ...
House Executive Committee Passes Ammo Tax and Handgun Registery Bills
The Illinois House Executive Committee passed HB5831 and HB5167 (Handgun Registry and Ammo Tax) today. An Alert will follow. If you are not already a member of the Illinois State Rifle Association, then now is the time to join!
Please click on the "JOIN" link at the top of this webpage!...
Posted Wed Feb 29 14:13:26 CST 2012
State Rep. Costello II decries legislation to impose ammunition tax
Chester, Ill. — State. Rep. Jerry Costello II (D-Smithton) issued the following statement regarding a myriad of anti-gun proposals recently introduced by Chicago politicians, including House Bill 5167, a bill that would add two percent surcharge on the sale of ammunition:
“As we make more and more progress towards the passage of a conceal and carry law in Illinois, anti-gun politicians from Chicago are desperately throwing up radical bills that deny the constitutionally-protected rights of law-abiding Illinoisans. These include proposals to require a $65 registration fee per handgun and to add an additional tax on ammunition. Making gun owners register is an attempt to put us in the same class as sex offenders, and I won’t stand for it. Ammunition and firearms are used extensively by people all over Illinois to put food on the table and as recreation. To impose a new tax on ammunition would be to punish this way of life.
“These nonsensical proposals directly violate the Constitution and target lawful gun owners, rather than criminals. It is equally my job to support practical legislation as it is to vocally oppose bills that are not good for the district.
“Chicagoans desperate to seem ‘tough on crime’ ought to come on board and support conceal and carry as it will surely result in gangbangers thinking twice before victimizing an armed citizen. Conceal and carry is a realistic solution, but it seems like these anti-gun crusaders are more interested in punishing law-abiding gun owners in my district than anything else. ...
Read the whole story here from the Randolph County Herald Tribune
Posted Wed Feb 29 11:11:06 CST 2012
NSSF Urges Congress to Pass Hunting, Shooting and Fishing Protection Bills
NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources will vote today to forward a historic package of legislation to Congress that includes a number of legislative priorities of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.
H.R. 4089, known as the Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012, was recently introduced by Congressmen Jeff Miller and Mike Ross, who are co-chairs of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, along with Bob Latta and Heath Shuler, vice co-chairs, and caucus members Congressmen Don Young, Dan Benishek and Dan Boren as well as Congressman Jeff Flake serving as original co-sponsors.
The bill combines a number of legislative priorities to expand and enhance recreational hunting, shooting and fishing opportunities while also protecting the firearms and ammunition industries from extremely detrimental regulations under the Environmental Protection Agency.
NSSF considers the legislation vitally important to help maintain the ranks of sportsmen and women who provide the bulk of support for wildlife conservation in America. Through the purchases of hunting and fishing licenses and sporting equipment such as firearms, ammunition and fishing tackle, which carry an excise tax, sportsmen have contributed more than $12 billion to wildlife conservation. "Sportsmen were our country's first conservationists," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. "Without continued, easy access to lands and waters where game and fish can be pursued, sportsmen will become less active and funding for conservation will decline, which be a loss for all citizens, not just hunters and anglers." ...
Read the whole story here from the National Shooting Sports Foundation
Posted Wed Feb 29 11:04:21 CST 2012
Seattle news illustrates why gun control doesn’t work
Tuesday’s revealing report in the on-line SeattleP-I.com explains the fallacy of gun control laws almost by accident: Two guys shot dead outside a restaurant last week may have killed each other, and it turns out neither could legally possess a firearm, much less carry one legally in public.
The gunfight may have been over a woman, according to KOMO Radio news Tuesday morning. One SeattleP-I.com reader left a message suggesting that it would be ideal if all gang-related shootings ended this way. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Tue Feb 28 19:27:42 CST 2012
BREAKING: Issa, Grassley push Holder for answers in Zapata slaying
ongressman Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley today sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding answers regarding the slaying of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata more than a year ago.
This column discussed new revelations in the Zapata murder, and now the two inquisitive Republicans are continuing to dig. They are specifically interested in the case against Manuel Barba, who had been under investigation for months. However, it now appears that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive had the same hands-off policy about Barba that the agency had in relation to several suspects in the Operation Fast and Furious investigation. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Tue Feb 28 07:50:52 CST 2012
Another school shooting, another failure of ‘Gun-free schools’ act
With last week’s shooting incident at a Bremerton-area elementary school fresh on everyone’s mind, today’s deadly shooting at an Ohio high school comes as one more reminder that the legislative panacea to such incidents, adopted more than a decade ago, just might be a fraud.
As this column is written, the count is one dead, four wounded and one teen in custody after having apparently given himself up sometime after having fled the school.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the suspected shooter has been identified. He’s a teen who attends classes at a different facility for “at risk” students. Charges are pending. The dead youth is identified as 16-year-old Daniel Parmentor. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Mon Feb 27 15:02:13 CST 2012
Illinois Politicians Plot New Assaults on Gun Ownership
Gun owners in Illinois are bracing for a fight against the latest round of legislation aimed at inhibiting their right to keep and bear arms. With efforts to essentially ban the ownership of firearms having been struck down by the Supreme Court, and Illinois now standing as the only state that makes no provision for legal concealed carry of firearms, leftist politicians in Chicago and throughout the state are far from conceding defeat.
This time, according to critics, they are attempting to interfere with the free exercise of Second Amendment liberties by simply taxing gun ownership and use beyond the means of many residents.
Taxation has often been used as a means of social coercion; so-called “sin taxes” on alcohol and cigarettes, for example, have been used as a means of supposedly discouraging the use of such products, while providing the government with a lucrative means of taxing the public in addition to many other forms of property, income, and sales taxes that regularly assault the public’s pocketbooks. Now, Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), a member of the Illinois legislature, is proposing a similar “sin tax” on ammunition. At the same time, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing for a new statewide “handgun registry” that would not only impose an onerous burden on gun owners ($65 per firearm), but would also create a massive state database tracking the location and ownership of every firearm in the state.
Cassidy’s bill to increase the taxes on ammunition is supposedly intended to fund a “high-crime trauma center grant fund” by means of a two-percent surtax on ammunition. The grant fund would then be used to give financial assistance to trauma centers in “high-crime areas.” An article by Judson Berger for FoxNews explains the logic behind the new tax:
The idea is to begin to offset the high cost of gun violence. Mark Walsh, campaign director for the Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told FoxNews.com that cost often ends up being shouldered by these urban trauma centers.
"[The money would go] into communities here in Illinois that have been damaged with gun violence," he said. "I think it's a legitimate way to pursue funding."
Cassidy filed the bill (HB 5167) on February 8; nine days later it was assigned to the executive committee. According to the text of the legislation, the new tax would come into effect at the beginning of next year:
Beginning January 1, 2013, in addition to all other rates of tax imposed under this Act, a surcharge of 2% is imposed on the selling price of firearm ammunition, except firearm ammunition purchased by the Department of Natural Resources. "Firearm" and "firearm ammunition" have the meanings ascribed to them in Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act.
The legislation also specifies that all the funds raised through the new surcharge would be distributed monthly to designated “trauma centers”:
Beginning January 1, 2013, the Department shall pay into the High Crime Trauma Center Grant Fund 100% of the net revenue realized for the preceding month from the 2% surcharge on the selling price of firearm ammunition.
Critics of the legislation, including Richard Pearson of the Illinois State Rifle Association, view the new ammunition surcharge as one that taxes gun owners — especially those in rural areas — to pay the costs for Chicago’s high crime rate. As Pearson told FoxNews:
"We aren't causing the problem. They are," Pearson said. "It's an attack on firearm owners and their rights.... They think that because we like to target shoot and hunt, we're bad people, and we should pay for all the ills of the city of Chicago."
The Fox story continued,
Since gun owners in Illinois have to have a special ID card which requires a background check to obtain, Pearson said those committing crimes of gun violence aren't likely to be paying much into the proposed tax fund.
"They're not buying their ammunition [legally]. They're not paying any part of the tax. They're getting their stuff illegally," he said. ...
Read the whole story here from The New American Magazine
Posted Fri Feb 24 08:45:38 CST 2012
Disarming the Myths Promoted By the Gun Control Lobby
As much as gun control advocates might wish otherwise, their attacks are running out of ammo. With private firearm ownership at an all-time high and violent crime rates plunging, none of the scary scenarios they advanced have materialized. Abuse of responsibility by armed citizens is rare, while successful defensive interventions against assaults on their lives and property are relatively commonplace.
National violent crime rates that soared for 30 years from the early 1960s began to decrease markedly since 1993. Last December the FBI reported that murder and other violent crime rates fell again by 6.4% during the first half of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010. A Gallup poll indicates that “Americans’ preference regarding gun laws is generally that the government enforce existing laws more strictly and not pass new laws.” ...
People from the Stateline Push for Concealed Carry
People from across the Stateline met Wednesday night to show their support for bringing concealed carry provisions to Illinois.
Illinois is the only state in the union without some sort of concealed carry laws, but residents in Rockford are hoping our politicians will soon change that.
Valinda Rowe, spokesperson for illinoiscarry.com, says one of her friends was attacked and beating away from her home in 2009. Even though she had taken gun classes and been certified in other states, Illinois laws stopped her from carrying a weapon.
"Mary was a victim twice that day, a crime was committed against her by that paroled felon," said Rowe. "But a bigger crime was committed by the state, by banning her right to be able to protect herself."
Wednesday night, Rowe hosted a community meeting and had concealed carry experts speak about bringing a law to Illinois. Winnebago County State's Attorney Joe Bruscato is one of the speakers.
"It's proven that in other communities when you have concealed carry, it has an impact on the crime, a positive impact, doing crime down, raising public safety," said Bruscato. ...
More than 200 attend concealed carry event in Rockford
“I see every day our challenges for law enforcement,” he said. “The vast majority of crimes committed with guns are not by those with firearm owner’s identification cards.”
On a personal level, the mayor spoke of threats against his life as a citizen and as mayor.
“It’s a very chilling experience and disempowering and a feeling of weakness,” he said.
The latest threat prompted him to seek and receive security protection from the Rockford Police Department.
“I’m in a privileged position to get that protection. What about everybody else?”
Morrissey also said if he learns that MAIG is against concealed carry he would renounce his membership. ...
Read the whole story here from the Rockford Regional Star
Posted Thu Feb 23 09:24:25 CST 2012
Most area law enforcement leaders support concealed carry
Most law enforcement leaders in Boone and Winnebago counties support the right for residents to carry concealed firearms, so long as proper safeguards are in place. The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police also supports concealed carry.
“Any time we allow a well-trained person to carry a handgun, they can possibly prevent some of these tragic incidents that happen ... or cut down on the number of victims,” said Cherry Valley Police Chief Todd Houde.
A town-hall style meeting is being hosted by Illinois Carry from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Giovanni's, 610 N. Bell School Road, Rockford.
Local law-enforcement leaders note that proper safeguards, such as thorough background checks and mandatory training, must coincide with any new concealed carry laws.
“There are 49 states with concealed carry to include our border state of Wisconsin. I believe some form of concealed carry in Illinois is just a matter of time,” Winnebago County Sheriff Dick Meyers said. “It is better to adopt legislation that creates appropriate requirements for both training and possession with those standards applied uniformly throughout the state.”
Rockford Police Chief Chet Epperson takes a more neutral stance. He defers to state legislators and City Council members to decide whether it’s time for concealed carry, but says he supports a thorough training and certification process for anyone who wishes to carry a weapon if concealed carry laws do pass.
“Possession of a firearm is a tremendous responsibility that should be reserved to those with the proven capacity to bear that burden,” Epperson said.
Epperson notes that law enforcement agencies must adjust their tactics to respond to situations where law-abiding people are armed with a weapon.
“Our department will now have that additional element to contend with on a more frequent basis in their response to crime scenes,” he said. “If concealed carry becomes the law in Illinois, I am confident that the members of the Rockford Police Department and our local law enforcement agency partners will be up to the task.”
Here's a list of police chiefs, sheriffs and top prosecutors from Boone and Winnebago counties that I've talked to today and where they stand on concealed carry.
Supporters of concealed carry: Winnebago County Sheriff Dick Meyers, Boone County Sheriff Duane Wirth, Rockton Police Chief Steve Dickson, Roscoe Police Chief Jamie Evans, Belvidere Police Chief Jan Noble, Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato, Loves Park Police Chief Jim Puckett, Winnebago Police Chief Todd Stockburger, Cherry Valley Police Chief Todd Houde.
Some of their comments include: Bruscato: “Part of my objective as State’s Attorney is reducing crime and increasing safety. I believe concealed carry does that.”
Stockburger: “I support concealed carry because I believe it could either deter or prevent certain criminal acts from occurring.”
Puckett: “All the other states seem like it has worked for them without major outcry that they should not have gone to concealed carry. As long as everything is in place: The accountability, the training and the law is written correctly, I don’t see any problem with it.”
Dickson: “I support concealed carry legislation that requires training and demonstration the person is capable and competent with a firearm and eligible for an Illinois FOID card.”
Evans: “As long as there were safeguards in place to ensure permits were not given to people who shouldn’t have them, such as felons or people court ordered not to be in possession, along with proper training I am for concealed carry. I feel law abiding citizens should be allowed to protect themselves. Conversely, criminals who want to possess firearms will inevitably find a way to do so.”
Neutral: Boone County State’s Attorney Michelle Courier, Rockford Police Chief Chet Epperson, Durand Police Chief Robert Corwin.
Courier: “I have a personal opinion regarding the issue. However, as state’s attorney, I wish to remain neutral on this issue and leave the issue to the legislators who were elected to make that decision.”
Corwin: “I’m not opposed to it if it’s done right and with regulations. There has to be some very strict guidelines. As long as those guidelines are set up, and they're strict enough, I think it’s going to come.” ...
Read the story here from the Rockford Register Star
Posted Wed Feb 22 23:16:30 CST 2012
Burglars in the bull’s eye; shootings by homeowners surge
Pacific Northwest burglars appear to be suddenly facing a bigger threat than barking dogs, alarms and police.
In recent weeks, several burglars have been shot, and at least one man was killed by an armed Edmonds homeowner. Last night, another burglar took a bullet, and he is currently at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center with a lead-induced headache.
In the aftermath of these incidents, as this column noted, there has not been much sympathy expressed by the public for any of the perforated perpetrators. Indeed, judging from comments left on the KOMO website after a couple of these shootings, the public is angry and downright bloodthirsty. They're cheering for people like the homeowner who blasted one burglar with a shotgun the other night. The suspect was apprehended on a Metro bus, according to the Seattle Times. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
Posted Wed Feb 22 13:03:05 CST 2012
Advocates say bringing a gun to a gun fight is the only way to be safe
As a single woman who lives alone on Chicago’s South Side, Radie doesn’t take a chance with her safety. She keeps her gun by her side at all times when she’s home.
One morning last year, she had to use it.
While cooking breakfast for her mother and cousin, Radie, who asked that her last name not be used, heard the sound of shattering glass coming from her basement. She grabbed her gun, which was sitting on the kitchen counter, and headed downstairs to investigate.
“When I got there I was confronted by two burglars with tire irons,” she said. “One of them raised up his tire iron and started to come at me.”
Radie pulled her gun, and in the same split-second that she fired a shot, the first burglar ran away. ...
Read the whole story here from Medill Reports Chicago
Posted Wed Feb 22 07:44:41 CST 2012
Ammunition 'Sin Tax' Won't Fly Says Illinois State Rifle Association
CHICAGO, Feb. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):
The ISRA is condemning a proposal that would levy a 2% "sin tax" on retail ammunition sales in the state. Sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), HB5167 would exact the tax on law-abiding firearm owners as a means of funding a yet to be established "High Crime Trauma Center Grant Fund." Supposedly, this grant fund would provide funding to hospitals to cover the costs of treating indigents involved in violent crime.
The ISRA considers HB5167 to be a punitive infringement on the law-abiding citizen's constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Therefore, the ISRA will be working vigorously in the Illinois House to defeat this measure. The ISRA is certain that a healthy majority of legislators will find HB5167 to be totally unacceptable.
"The lawful firearm owners of this state are under no obligation to pay medical bills racked up by gang bangers, druggies, and other violent criminals," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. "The assumption behind HB5167 is that somehow the state's hunters and sportsmen are to blame for violent crime and, therefore, should be forced to pony up and pay for others' misdeeds. Sorry, that just isn't going to fly."
"HB5167 is just another scheme concocted by the Chicago Machine to punish law-abiding firearm owners," continued Pearson. "The gun control movement has been learning a bitter lesson in the courts these past few years, so we expect to see all sorts of desperate firearm taxation and regulation bills being floated in the General Assembly this session. Lawful Illinois firearm owners may rest assured that, as fast as the gun-controllers introduce these extremist proposals, the ISRA will be on the spot to knock them down."
The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.
http://www.isra.org ...
Read the whole story here from the Wall Street Journal Market Watch / PR Newswire
Posted Mon Feb 20 11:24:04 CST 2012
Voice of The Southern: More gun laws? You’ve gotta be kidding!
Our View: New gun control ideas out of Chicago won't curb urban violence and aren't needed in Illinois, which already is plenty tough on gun owners.
Illinois stands apart as a state that is tough on gun ownership. It is the only state without a concealed carry law and the only state requiring a license to legally possess firearms, or even a single bullet.
Apparently state leaders believe Illinois is on the golden path of gun laws and that the other 49 states have it all wrong. What other explanation can there be for two separate gun control ideas recently touted by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Pat Quinn.
Emanuel wants a law that would require handgun buyers to pay a $65 registration fee, and then provide the weapon's serial number and the place and date of purchase, along with the buyer's name and address. The new handgun registry would be added to the state's current standards state firearm owners must meet. Quinn didn't oppose Emanuel's idea, but said it would be an uphill battle to get such a law passed by the General Assembly. Quinn then talked about the need to better control assault weapons, though he stopped short of a checklist of specific recommendations.
Both ideas are without merit, despite strong support in Chicago, which, ironically, leads the state in gun violence while having the most restrictive controls on firearm ownership. Further restrictions would only widen the gap between law-abiding unarmed citizens and criminals who flout all laws.
Illinois already registers gun owners. Illinois residents who own guns and obey the law already have Firearm Owners Identification Cards. They know it is illegal to possess so much as a single round of ammunition without such a card. Further, Illinois requires even private individuals to keep a record of every firearm transfer for at least 10 years. Waiting periods are 24 hours for shotguns and rifles, 72 hours for handguns.
So while the governor carefully acknowledged Emanuel's ideas wouldn't fly, he couldn't stop.
"The gun show loophole needs to be closed, and we need to do something about assault weapons," Quinn said. "They're used on the street by gangs and other criminals to harm people. So I think we need to have an agenda there that, you know, gets enough votes." ...
Read the whole story here by Voice of the Southern
Posted Sun Feb 19 16:19:42 CST 2012
Woman Who Shot Intruder In Home Advocates Conceal-Carry Legislation
Radie says she was in her kitchen cooking when she heard someone breaking in.
“I heard glass breaking,” she says. “I went to go see what
was happening.”
Police say a man armed with a tire iron tried to attack Radie. But her instinct kicked in.
“I just thank the Lord that I’ve had a gun
since I was 21 and that I learned how to shoot,” she says.
...
Radie will give her first speech on conceal-carry legislation at 7 p.m. Monday at
Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Blvd.
Is Issa approaching the ‘No-More-Mr. Nice-Guy’ point in Fast & Furious?
Congressman Darrell Issa yesterday sent a seven-page letter to Attorney General Eric Holder about his and the Justice Department’s uncooperative
posture in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious, and there were no Valentines attached.
Clearly, Issa’s frustration is showing in the letter,
leading many to wonder just when the California Republican is going to stop playing “Mr. Nice Guy” and slap Holder with a contempt of Congress citation. Mike
Vanderboegh at Sipsey Street Irregulars dished out some sarcasm about Issa’s letter. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights
Examiner
Posted Wed Feb 15 12:16:51 CST 2012
Drink up with your Valentine at Starbucks
Today is supposed to see the launch of a boycott by gun prohibitionists against Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks because that business has
the audacity to serve all customers rather than become a pawn in a game of social bigotry targeting legally-armed citizens.
Northwest rights activists on at
least four popular firearms forums have clearly indicated they will be countering this boycott with their business. It’s a text book example of the “Money Talks, B.S.
Walks” principle.
The firearms community, exemplified by Gun Rights Media, Seattle Guns, Open Carry Washington in Redmond, Lacey and Silverdale, and Northwest
Firearms members, will put their money where their mouths ar. Meanwhile, the hysteria mongers led by the so-called National Gun Victim’s Action Council (NGAC), a
Chicago-based group claiming to be “a network of 14 million gun victims,” wants to make Starbucks a surrogate for its promotion of prejudice ...
Will Rahm Emanuel's Gun Plan End His Springfield Success Streak?
In Springfield Rahm was on roll.
He won approval for his school plan to extend the school day and school year. He won approval for the
DREAM Act to help enable privately-funded scholarship for undocumented students. He won approval of his speed camera plan to fine speeding drivers in school zones. He
won approval from the Illinois House for an ambitious gaming expansion plan that would grant a casino to Chicago. He won approval for labor changes at McCormick Place.
Ditto the CME Group tax deal.
Rahm Emanuel put his formidable political persuasive powers behind doable deals. Springfield morphed from Springfiend to
Springfriend for a Chicago mayor.
Emanuel's Gun Proposal Harks Back to Richard J. Daley
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says Illinois should have a statewide gun registry. As the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times reported, his plan is likely
to run into much resistance. Emanuel's idea isn't new. Mayor Richard J. Daley (the first Mayor Daley, that is -- father of Richard M. Daley) suggested the same thing
back in the 1960s, as I covered in previous reports for Illinois Issues and WBEZ. Here's more detail on that history from the Chicago Tribune's archives. (Author
Robert Kukla, a gun-rights advocate, also told this story in his 1973 book Gun Control.) The Illinois General Assembly began discussing a gun-registration law as early
as 1965, when it voted down the idea. (Source: Tribune, June 22, 1965.) In 1966, Daley called for Springfield legislators to pass gun restrictions. "There can be no
question that the great increase in juvenile crime has been accompanied by a similar increase in the possession of guns," he said. (Tribune, Dec. 1, 1966.) State Rep.
Paul F. Elward, a Chicago Democrat, introduced a gun-registry bill backed by Daley in 1967. "We're trying to find out who has the weapons," Daley said. "This is the
first step." (Tribune, Feb. 23, 1967.) ...
The link to find your elected officials was left off of today's alert that went out in email. Here is that link those who need to find their
state Representative and Senator, it goes to the IL State Board of Elections:
ISRA Urgent Alert: CHICAGO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL LAUNCHES NEW ATTACK ON YOUR RIGHTS
On Thursday, February 9th, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for the Illinois General Assembly to pass a $65 per handgun fee to be levied against
every law-abiding gun owner in Illinois – INCLUDING YOU. Of course, gang bangers, murderers, robbers and rapists are exempt from the fee. This fee would be charged
every 5 years on every handgun you own. Additionally, you would have to register with the government in the same manner as sex-offenders.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO
YOU
If Rahm Emanuel’s gun tax passes, you will be required to pack up your handguns and take them to the local police station for examination and registration.
If you have 10 handguns to bring in, you’ll walk out paying $650 in taxes. If you own 100 handguns, the government will lighten your wallet to the tune of $6,500. And,
you’ll have to repeat this process every 5 years – unless Emanuel and his buddies in the legislature bump this up to an ANNUAL FEE.
WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE
MONEY TO PAY THE TAX?
If you cannot pay the $65 tax on EACH of your handguns, you will have to surrender your guns to the local police for destruction.
WHAT IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO PAY THE TAX?
If you decide not to pay the tax, the police will come to your house and take your guns away. They will also
arrest you and charge you with a CLASS 2 FELONY.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP STOP THIS HANDGUN TAX IN ITS TRACKS? ...
City of Chicago Press Release - MAYOR EMANUEL PROPOSES STATEWIDE GUN-TITLING LEGISLATION
Handgun Registration to Trace Guns, Reduce Illegal Firearm Transfer, and Help Solve Crimes
Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced today proposed
legislation that would require handgun registration and titling in the State of Illinois. The new law would provide law enforcement officers with essential information
about guns used to commit a crime, reduce illegal firearm transfers, and create a fair system of accountability for gun owners.
The City of Chicago requires
all handgun owners to register their guns with the Chicago Police Department (CPD); however the State of Illinois has no such requirement.
“This is common
sense gun legislation that will protect the rights of responsible gun owners while helping to keep illegal guns off the streets,” said Mayor Emanuel. “56 percent of
short time-to-crime guns recovered at Chicago crime scenes originate in the State of Illinois, but outside of the City of Chicago. A state law requiring handgun owners
to register their guns – just like they register their cars – will increase the safety of our residents.” ...
Read the whole story here from the City of Chicago
Press Releases
Posted Fri Feb 10 08:49:26 CST 2012
Chicago Mayor Emanuel to push for state-wide handgun registry
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants lawmakers to require that all handguns in Illinois be registered with the state, or gun owners could face felony
charges.
A statewide gun registry is key in helping solve Chicago crimes that involve handguns from outside the city, and would also help crack down on gun
trafficking, Emanuel is expected to argue Thursday.
Under Emanuel's proposal, handgun owners would have to pay $65 for a registration certificate from the
state, which would function much like the title to a car. Illinois law currently requires that gun owners and shooters have a firearm owners identification card, which
works like a drivers license. But the guns themselves are not registered at the state level.
Emanuel is set to lay out his plan Thursday at a center for
at-risk youth on Chicago's South Side, according to administration sources.
The handgun registration certificate would include information about the owner, the
make and model of the gun, as well as where and when the firearm was bought. Registratin[sic] applicants would also need a valid firearm owners identification card
...
Illinois gun owners are planning “the largest turn out of Right to Carry supporters Illinois” has ever seen, now that a federal judge has upheld
the state’s law prohibiting concealed weapons.
In the case of Moore v. Madigan, in which a gun-rights advocate sued Attorney General Lisa Madigan to overturn
the law, U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough ruled that:
"The United States Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit (Appellate Court) have recognized only a
Second Amendment core individual right to bear arms inside the home. Further, even if this court recognized a Second Amendment right to bear arms outside of the home
and an interference with that right, the statutes nonetheless survive constitutional scrutiny."
The ruling was handed down exactly a month before Illinois Gun
Owners Lobby Day, an annual Springfield gathering which is scheduled for March 7 this year. Gun fans will gather at the Prairie Capital Convention Center at 10:30 a.m.,
then march on the Capitol at 1:15 p.m.
Illinois is the only state that bans concealed weapons, and gun rights advocates are determined to bring it into line
with the other 49. Their motto, in fact, is “49 Other States Can’t Be Wrong.”
Buses will be converging on Springfield from all over the state. As for the
dress, code, “[b]usiness casual is suggested, dress up if you want. We suggest that you don’t wear any camo.” ...
Is this your preferred use of Chicago’s tax dollars or do you think they would be better spent in more meaningful ways?
Alan Gottlieb holds a check received from Chicago for legals fees in the McDonald v Chicago case that went before the US Supreme Court in 2010.
Photo by Dave
Workman
Posted Tue Feb 7 14:11:17 CST 2012
SAF APPEALS JUDGE’S DISMISSAL OF MOORE V. MADIGAN CARRY CASE
For Immediate Release: 2/6/2012
BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation immediately filed an appeal following dismissal of its
challenge to Illinois statutes that prohibit the carrying of loaded firearms outside the home for personal protection in the case of Moore v. Madigan.
The case
is named for individual plaintiff Michael Moore, and defendant Lisa Madigan in her capacity as Illinois Attorney General. Joining Moore and SAF in the case are Illinois
Carry, and three other private citizens, Charles Hooks, Peggy Fechter and Jon Maier.
The complaint was dismissed by Federal District Judge Sue E. Meyerscough,
an Obama administration appointee who formerly served on the Illinois State Appellate Court.
In her ruling, Judge Meyerscough stated, “This Court finds that
the Illinois ‘Unlawful Use of Weapons’ and ‘Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon’ statutes do not violate Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights. The United States Supreme
Court and the Seventh Circuit have recognized only a Second Amendment core individual right to bear arms inside the home. Further, even if this Court recognized a
Second Amendment right to bear arms outside of the home and an interference with that right, the statutes nonetheless survive constitutional scrutiny.” ...
Read the whole story here from Second Amendment
Foundation
Posted Mon Feb 6 22:14:13 CST 2012
Kadner: Police can’t follow law on FOID card requests
Illinois has so many requests for Firearm Owner’s Identification cards that state police can’t process them in a timely manner.
In
addition, people calling the state police to ask why they haven’t received their FOID cards are put on hold for as long as 35 minutes, if they’re lucky enough to get
through to an answering machine that puts them on hold.
I tried the number 12 times, received a busy signal 11 of those times and got the answering machine
once. After 20 minutes on hold, I hung up.
Under law, the state has 30 days to process FOID card requests. I’ve been waiting 50 days for a response to my
application. ...
Lawmakers hope bipartisan downstate coalition can curb Chicago influence
DECATUR - A group of Central Illinois lawmakers is calling for a bipartisan coalition of downstate legislators to unite in support of job
creation and in opposition to gun control laws, state Rep. Chapin Rose said at a Thursday news conference in Decatur.
State Reps. Adam Brown of Decatur and
Bill Mitchell of Forsyth joined the Mahomet Republican near the Law Enforcement Center on Franklin Street to discuss the coalition and recent legislation they said
"bans hunting" in Illinois.
Rose cited House Bills 1294, 1599 and 1855. According to versions of the bills posted on the General Assembly's website, they ban
the manufacture, sale or transportation of weapons that include semiautomatic firearms that accept a detachable magazine. It also bans possessing attachments such as
pistol grips, thumb-hole stocks or muzzle shrouds.
The bills also collectively lay down harsher penalties on those convicted of gun crimes involving "assault
weapons" and prescribe penalties for those who do not report their guns being stolen.
"Shotguns would be banned and hunting, as we know it, would be over
with," Rose said. "There are millions of dollars spent in downstate Illinois every year related to hunting."
The legislation specifically bans shotguns with
cylindrical magazines, and semiautomatic shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than five shells or that has a pistol grip or thumb-hole stock.
National
Rifle Association lobbyist Todd Vandermyde said the weapon descriptions under the bills are overly broad and rule out many weapons suitable for hunting and
self-defense.
"Just the fact I have a thumb-hole stock laying around is a felony. I've got a slew of AR-15s," Vandermyde said, naming a semiautomatic rifle
specifically cited as banned under the legislation. "I hunt with them all the time. (Under this bill), that's all gone." ...
Bloomberg to take to the airwaves during the Super Bowl to push gun control
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Among the slick, million-dollar ads for the likes of Pepsi and Honda during the Super Bowl this Sunday, viewers in
Washington will see a far more modest spot. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will be sitting on a couch touting an issue most politicians
avoid like the plague: gun control.
The two mayors, whose local teams face off in the big game, are making the pitch for Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG),
the organization they co-founded in 2006.
Murder has been on the decline in New York and other major American cities for years, but the mayors say they still
see too many dead cops and teens ...
GENESEO, Ill— A series of bills introduced by legislators in Springfield may have a serious impact on our area. House Bills 1294, 1599 and 1855
are all aimed at banning a wide variety of firearms. Several gun manufacturers located around the QCA are now feeling the heat. Armalite Incorporated in Geneseo likes
to boast they make the finest firearms in the world. But legislators in their home state may end up driving them out of business.
"3 very very harsh bills that
basically would block everything we manufacture. If passed these laws would force us to leave the state," says Armalite owner Mark Westrom.
Some Chicago area
legislators want to ban all semi-automatic firearms, as well as 50 caliber rifles, and if they get their way Armalite will almost certainly close up shop ...
Local media covers CCW classes at John A Logan in Carterville
"We travel quite a bit from state to state and sometimes you get in a position you'll feel more comfortable with if you had some kind of
protection," says student Ray Wiesel.
Wiesel was among 200 people in southern Illinois who are taking a class to get that permit. For the first time, John A.
Logan College held a course to help them do just that. However, the permit will not apply to Illinois. A conceal carry bill was introduced into the House last year.
Representative Brandon Phelps says Chicago lawmakers have put the bill's progress on hold, worried it will lead to more violence.
"I agree with them. There are
too many guns on the streets up there but the problem is guns that are on the streets are the ones possessed by the criminals," describes Phelps. ...
Holder didn’t know…but somebody did; the F&F ‘main justice’ problem
At the end of more than four hours before a sometimes contentious hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on
Operation Fast and Furious, Attorney General Eric Holder appeared to have dodged a political bullet.
His subordinates at the Department of Justice may not
enjoy the same luxury. Holder repeatedly told the committee that those responsible will be held accountable, but he did not specifically say anyone would be fired. Most
of those involved have already been reassigned and two people have quit.
The hearing opened just a few hours after release of a memorandum from the staff for
Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley titled Main Justice: Extensive Involvement in Operation Fast and Furious. That memo, sent to Republican
members of the Oversight Committee, asserted that key Holder subordinates knew about Fast and Furious, while there have been recent attempts to shift the blame to
officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix, Arizona. ...
Read the whole story here from Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights
Examiner
Posted Fri Feb 3 10:29:20 CST 2012
Southtown's Kadner: Police can’t follow law on FOID card requests
Illinois has so many requests for Firearm Owner’s Identification cards that state police can’t process them in a timely manner.
In
addition, people calling the state police to ask why they haven’t received their FOID cards are put on hold for as long as 35 minutes, if they’re lucky enough to get
through to an answering machine that puts them on hold.
I tried the number 12 times, received a busy signal 11 of those times and got the answering machine
once. After 20 minutes on hold, I hung up.
Under law, the state has 30 days to process FOID card requests. I’ve been waiting 50 days for a response to my
application
1. Call the ISP Police Firearms Services Bureau at 217-782-7980 and make an inquiry into the status of your card. Disregard any recorded message
that tells you not to bother unless you’ve been waiting more than 56 days. It’s your rights that have been put on hold, it’s your freedom that is put in jeopardy, it’s
your prerogative to call and ask for action.
2. Call your Illinois Representative and Illinois Senator at their Springfield offices and inform them of your
difficulty getting your new or renewed FOID. It is very likely that your call will be answered by a secretary. Always be polite to the secretaries, they’re your portal
to the legislators. Provide details on your situation: when you sent in your application, date your check cleared, etc. Ask for the legislator to make an inquiry on
your behalf. It’s important for the legislators to know that the FOID delays are impacting citizens in their districts. ...
Holder Wednesday: Between the rock and the hard place
One day prior to his much-anticipated appearance before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to discuss Operation Fast and
Furious, and one day after he was threatened with a contempt of Congress proceeding, embattled Attorney General Eric Holder is caught between the proverbial rock and
hard place.
Northwest gun rights activists are almost salivating at the likelihood of verbal fisticuffs during Thursday morning’s hearing on Capitol Hill. The
firearms community does not like Holder, and they know he is in trouble. Ironic how his undoing may come now, because today marks the one-year anniversary of the first
time this column wrote about the scandal, then known by the generic umbrella term Project Gunrunner. We actually re-read that piece today to reflect on just how far
this investigation, and this story, have come. ...
Read the whole story here from Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights
Examiner
Posted Wed Feb 1 14:08:09 CST 2012
Under the bus? Dem report blames AZ officials only for F&F
Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued a “minority report” Tuesday on Operation Fast and Furious that points to
officials with the Justice Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix as responsible for the scandal, while applying no blame to
Obama administration appointees in Washington, D.C.
It also suggests that the problem with gunwalking dates back to the Bush administration. ...
Read the whole story here from Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights
Examiner
Posted Tue Jan 31 14:32:54 CST 2012
Attack of the Gun Control Monkeys. "Joined at the hip." January 2011 Emails Demonstrate the Long Symbiotic Relationship Between
Anti-Firearm Zealots and ATF Brass.
The date is 25 January 2011. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry has been dead a month. In Phoenix, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke has finally indicted
the Fast and Furious straw buyers, in an attempt to keep them under the thumb of DOJ and away from anybody who might talk about the formerly clandestine operation that
this blog and others have been writing stories about for four weeks. The "big bust" is announced in this article at MyFoxPhoenix: "Gun Running Operation Uncovered in
Arizona." In Martinsburg WV, Special Agent Benjamin R. Hayes, Chief of the Law Enforcement Support Branch at ATF's National Tracing Center (seen here in a training
video) has seen the article and turns to his government computer to find out more. Sipsey Street has obtained a series of emails, beginning with Hayes' first, which are
transcribed below. They give us a glimpse into the symbiotic relationship between ATF senior management and the anti-firearm zealots of the Joyce Foundation. ...
Read the whole story here Sipsey Street Irregulars
Posted Tue Jan 31 14:23:43 CST 2012
Columnist Pitts aims finger of blame at wrong target
Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts yesterday fired off a missive blaming guns, published in the Seattle Times, and what he considers weak gun
laws, for the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords last year that led her ultimately to resign from office recently to focus on her recovery.
His
column is already stirring quite a conversation on the popular GunRightsMedia.com forum.
In his remarks, Mr. Pitts – exercising the proper degree of righteous
indignation – asserts that the will of the people was “overturned by a gun.” Were it only that simple. ...
ISRA ALERT – CHICAGO MACHINE IS COMING FOR YOUR GUNS
On Tuesday, January 24th, the Chicago gun grabbers launched a surprise attack on your gun rights by moving two pieces of extremist anti-gun
legislation out of committee and on to the House floor for consideration.
The first bill is HB1294. This bill would require the ban and forced confiscation of
every semiautomatic firearm you own.
The second bill is HB1599. If passed, this bill would increase jail time for owners of any guns banned by HB1294.
THE MACHINE PLAN IS CLEAR – THEY WANT TO MAKE IT A FELONY FOR YOU TO EXERCISE YOUR 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!
These two bills are not just random attacks on your
rights! They have been carefully drafted and coordinated by some of the Chicago Machine’s most ardent gun grabbers to include: Rep. Edward Acevedo; Rep. Ann Williams;
Rep. Greg Harris; Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie; Rep. Karen May; Rep. Carol Sente; Rep. Deborah Mell (Blago’s sister-in-law); and Rep. Marlow Colvin.
IF THESE
BILLS PASS, YOU WILL HAVE 90 DAYS TO SURRENDER YOUR GUNS TO THE POLICE OR THE POLICE WILL BE COMING TO YOUR DOOR TO TAKE YOUR GUNS TO THE FURNACE, AND YOU TO THE
PENITENTIARY.
This is the beginning of what could be a very bad year for law-abiding Illinois gun owners. The Chicago Machine does not care about the 2nd
Amendment and is dead set on taking your guns away from you. They are not patriots; they are not lovers of freedom; they are not Americans. These people have no respect
for our Constitution or the ideals of liberty and self determination envisioned by the Founding Fathers. They know that private firearm ownership is the bedrock of
liberty and, if they can take your guns away from you, then they will be able to condemn you and your family to a life of servitude – groveling before the Machine for
life’s necessities.
DO NOT LET THE CHICAGO MACHINE BEAT YOU DOWN LIKE A DOG!
HERE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU MUST DO TO HELP PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS:
...
Police Hope to Prevent Gun Shop Burglaries With New Ordinance
After the Downrange Sports gun shop in New Lenox was burglarized twice in December, police hope stricter security measures will prevent it from
happening again in the future. Meanwhile, they continue to investigate the theft of at least 15 guns.
New Lenox police hope stricter security measures will
prevent future gun shop burglaries after 15 firearms were stolen from Downrange Sports in December.
The village's public safety committee reviewed a new
ordinance Monday that would require gun shop owners to meet various security requirements, such as putting all firearms in a safe overnight and installing silent alarms
that would directly notify police. ...
Friday dump of Fast & Furious documents will be more trouble for Holder
Late Friday night, the Justice Department released a series of e-mails related to Operation Fast and Furious that indicate officials at the
agency, including Attorney General Eric Holder, were alerted within hours of the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, and that Holder’s aide was told guns found at
the scene were linked to the gun trafficking scheme.
Some of the documents were first made public by NPR, but National Gun Rights
Examiner D
avid Codrea quickly followed up, as did independent blogger Mike Vanderboegh at Sipsey Street Irregulars.
Codrea and Vanderboegh originally broke the fast and Furious story more than a year ago ...
The 2012 NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits will be an exciting weekend as thousands of NRA members will come together April 13 - 15 in St. Louis,
Missouri. You can contribute to the success of our meeting by participating as an Annual Meeting Volunteer.
If you can spare a half-day or more while attending
the St. Louis Annual Meeting, you can assist the NRA staff in making this year's Annual Meeting our best yet! You will find that to participate in the Annual Meeting as
a volunteer is one of the most satisfying and enjoyable activities you will ever experience as an NRA member.
Volunteers are needed in a wide variety of
activities including the NRA Store, Membership Services, the Airgun Range, Firearms Inspectors and many others. The store requires lots of manpower; especially needed
are volunteers who have cashier experience. Membership Services is a busy place as many members renew or upgrade their memberships. And we will need many NRA-certified
instructors to assist young people at the Airgun range. There are other jobs, too, and we can usually find one that you will enjoy.
For more information,
contact Gayle Carter-Cook, Volunteer Coordinator, at 208-274-2670 or nravolunteer@gmail.com. ...
Read the whole story here from the NRA Annual Meeting
website
Posted Thu Jan 26 17:06:03 CST 2012
Gary, Ind., Fast Food Worker’s Concealed Gun Helps Foil Robbery
GARY, Ind. (CBS) – The Indiana law that allows licensed residents to carry concealed firearms has apparently helped break up what could have been
a bloody robbery.
As CBS2’s Mike Parker reports, Gary police said two armed men wearing ski masks burst into the Rally’s at Broadway and Washington on Jan. 11
and tried to rob the place.
During the attempted heist, one of the employees pulled out a gun he was carrying and shot one of the would-be thieves. They both
took off and one of them collapsed and died outside the restaurant. ...
BREAKING: Issa demands access to another US Attorney in F&F probe
Congressman Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder make
available for questioning a second U.S. attorney be “made available” for questioning in the committee’s probe of Operation Fast and Furious.
Issa wants to
question Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morrissey, who was under Cunningham’s supervision in Phoenix. ...
Read the whole story here Dave Workman Seattle Gun Rights
Examiner
Posted Thu Jan 26 16:57:35 CST 2012
The Glock Family Feud A divorce by the patriarch of gunmaker Glock sparks a clash within his clan
A legal shootout has erupted within Austria’s wealthy Glock clan, makers of the well-known semiautomatic pistol of the same name. Sold to
governments and civilians throughout the world—and used by two-thirds of U.S. police departments—the Glock handgun made its inventor, Gaston Glock, one of his country’s
leading industrialists and a very rich man. Now Glock’s marriage to a woman 51 years his junior has ignited litigation and raised questions about the manufacturer’s
future.
In December, Helga Glock, Gaston’s wife of 49 years until they divorced earlier in 2011, filed a civil lawsuit in an Austrian court seeking to regain a
significant stake in the Glock corporate empire. She claims her stake was improperly shifted from her by advisers to her 82-year-old ex-husband. Helga, 71, alleges that
the trouble began in October 2008, when Gaston suffered a stroke. One of his nurses, Kathrin Tschikof, “seemingly developed a close personal relationship” with the
patient, the 58-page suit says. Soon, it adds, Helga was denied access to Gaston’s hospital room and then locked out of the family mansion. Helga claims it took her a
year to recover her clothes and personal items from the lakeside villa in southern Austria. ...
Read the whole story here By Paul M.
Barrett, Bloomberg.com
Posted Thu Jan 26 16:52:25 CST 2012
What NOT to expect from State of the Union message
An estimated 40 million Americans, including Washingtonians from Pend Oreille to Pacific Beach, will be viewing Tuesday evening when President
Barack Obama delivers his third State of the Union address to Congress, and it is virtually guaranteed he will not mention gun rights or gun control, as that will open
the Pandora’s Box of Operation Fast and Furious.
As Obama tries to make a case for his administration’s handling of the economy – an economy that has put
millions of gun owners, along with a lot of other citizens, out of work or at least left them worse off than they were three years ago – he may once again try to blame
Bush for the nation's economic woes. He will want to “tax the rich” so that they pay their “fair share” and redistribute their wealth to people who pay no taxes at all
because they don't earn enough.
But he will avoid Fast and Furious like the plague on his presidency that it is. ...
The earthquake irony of ‘Taking the Fifth’ in Fast & Furious
Northwest gun rights activists are already talking about the revelation that Patrick Cunningham, chief of the criminal division of the U.S.
Attorney’s office in Phoenix, will invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a deposition scheduled Tuesday with Congressional investigators.
There is no small mount of irony in this, since one suspects there may have been times in Mr. Cunningham’s career when, as a federal prosecutor, he suggested
to a defendant that “If you have nothing to hide…” and so forth. ...
Read the whole story here by Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights
Examiner
“I was like a kid in a candy store when I saw this. I wanted a pink gun,” said Stolfa-Kiper as she completed
paperwork for the 12-ounce “Pink Lady” at Smiley’s Sports Shop in Bloomington.
Stolfa-Kiper, of Normal, is among several women who visit the store each month
to purchase handguns for home protection. She also would like to carry the gun concealed, in public.
“I would love it if they passed concealed carry in
Illinois. I hope I never have to use this...
Before students in Sue Darnall’s gun safety class learn how to load and fire a weapon they are given advice that could
affect their decision to pull the trigger in a stressful situation.
“You have to answer the question: do I have it in me to take someone else’s life? We don’t
know. We can train for that possibility but we never know until we have the experience. Firearms should always be considered a tool of last resort,” Darnall told a
group attending a recent personal protection class at the shooting range and training center she and her husband, Ron, own west of Bloomington...
Personal bias is something journalists are trained avoid when they cover the news.
When I started working on a story about the
controversial issue of concealed carry of weapons in Illinois, I was forced to face my own bias. I have never lived in a home with guns and considered myself the
quintessential anti-gun nut...
The ISRA is featured in the latest NRA Club Connection State Association Spotlight piece. Read about it on pages 18 through 21! ...
Read the whole story here from NRA Club
Connection
Posted Fri Jan 6 13:40:32 CST 2012
The Racist Origins of Gun Control Laws Designed To Disarm Slaves, Freedmen, And African-Americans
Before the Civil War ended, State “Slave Codes” prohibited slaves from owning guns. After President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
in 1863 and after the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery was adopted and the Civil War ended in 1865, States persisted in prohibiting
blacks, now freemen, from owning guns under laws renamed “Black Codes.” They did so on the basis that blacks were not citizens, and thus did not have the same rights,
including the right to keep and bear arms protected in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as whites. This view was specifically articulated by the U.S.
Supreme Court in its infamous 1857 decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford to uphold slavery. ...
Read the whole story here from Rev. Ken Blanchard, Black Man With A
Gun
Posted Tue Dec 20 12:13:28 CST 2011
COURT SIDES WITH ILLINOIS STATE RIFLE ASSOCIATION IN PROTECTING IDENTITIES OF LAWFUL FIREARM OWNERS
PEORIA, IL - - The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):
Lawful firearm owners across the state
may rest a little easier tonight knowing that their sensitive personal information is finally safeguarded from release under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA).
Earlier this week, the Honorable Michael E. Brandt, Chief Judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit of Illinois, Peoria County, signed an order permanently
barring the Illinois State Police from revealing the identities of the state’s 1.5 million law-abiding firearm owners. This order extends to prohibit the release of
information contained in Firearm Owner ID (FOID) applications and Firearm Transfer Inquiry Program (FTIP) background checks. The ISRA is characterizing the issuance of
this permanent injunction as a major victory for Illinoisans concerned about their personal privacy.
Judge Brandt’s order stems from a lawsuit filed earlier
this year by the ISRA against the Illinois State Police. The ISRA filed the lawsuit upon learning that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had ruled that FOID
information was releasable under the FOIA and that the Illinois State Police must honor a FOIA request for such information filed by a newspaper reporter. Lawful
firearm owners were appalled and angry over the prospect of their private information being released to the media. The ISRA’s response attacked this problem on two
fronts. First our lobbyists quickly got the legislature to pass H.B. 3500, a bill banning the State Police from releasing the FOID information and second the ISRA
successfully sought a temporary restraining order to halt the release of firearm owner personal information until the Legislature could do their work. Monday’s action
by Judge Brandt makes the provisions of that restraining order permanent and goes further, now also protecting the FTIP information which adds one more layer of
protection from any future overzealous anti-gun legislatures or Attorney Generals.
“Gun control organizations and their friends in the press have been trying
for years to get the names and addresses of firearm owners,” commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. “For some reason, they think that the public has a
right to know who in their city, town or social organization owns guns. Thus, they would like nothing more than to see the names and addresses of gun owners along with
detailed inventories of privately-held firearms plastered across every newspaper in the state. For years, the State Police correctly and successfully resisted calls
for the release of such information. Well, then along comes Attorney General Lisa Madigan.”
“Lisa Madigan is well known as a staunch supporter of efforts to
ban civilian firearm ownership,” continued Pearson. “In fact, Madigan routinely receives recognition and awards for her anti-gun activities from Illinois’ largest gun
control organization. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Madigan would break with tradition and direct the release of gun owners’ personal information to
the public. Judge Brandt’s order has put the kibosh on Madigan’s abuse of power.”
“The most important outcome of Judge Brandt’s order will be the restoration
of peace of mind among the state’s gun owners,” said Pearson. “No longer will they have to fear that Lisa Madigan will target their homes for burglary. They won’t
have to worry that gun control extremists will “occupy” their front yards or harass their children on the way to school. Yes, the state’s gun owners will be quite
content in the knowledge that the court has declared that the choice to own firearms is nobody’s business but their own.”
The ISRA is the state’s leading
advocate of safe, lawful, and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois
firearm owners.
Posted Wed Dec 7 10:47:53 CST 2011
Judge's Final Order Issuing Permanent Injunction Preventing Release of FOID info Available for Viewing
It’s Not What You Said, But to Whom You Said It Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy tells a Black
church audience that he thinks gun laws kill Black children.
What do you say to a neighborhood plagued with gun violence over the years? Stop bringing guns into the community—seems simple enough, right?
Well, Garry McCarthy, Chicago’s newly appointed police superintendent brought in by new mayor Rahm Emanuel, may have taken his anti–gun violence rhetoric a little too
far, according to critics.
McCarthy, who is white, appeared at St. Sabina, a predominately Black church in Chicago’s South side of the city last week. During
his remarks McCarthy warned the crowd that he wasn’t afraid to talk about race. To prove just how serious he was, he made a correlation between slavery, segregation,
the Black codes and Jim Crow with “government-sponsored racism.”
Although the church’s pastor, Rev. Dr. Michael Pfleger, has been a strong supporter of
anti-gun and anti-drug campaigns over the years, McCarthy may have felt a little too comfortable expressing his feelings toward federal gun laws.
"Now I want
you to connect one more dot on that chain of the African-American history in this country, and tell me if I’m crazy, federal gun laws,” he started, “... facilitate the
flow of illegal firearms into our urban centers across this country, that are killing our Black and brown children."
He may have been cheered on by the
worshipers, but not surprisingly McCarthy’s remarks have received very harsh criticism from gun-rights advocates ...
ISRA URGENT ALERT: NEW CHICAGO POLICE SUPERINTENDENT LAUNCHES ATTACK AGAINST LAW-ABIDING FIREARM OWNERS
Fellow Law-Abiding Firearm Owners:
As many of you may already know, Chicago’s new police superintendant, Gerry McCarthy, recently
delivered an address on the topic of gun control to the parishioners of Fr. Pfleger’s St. Sabina’s Church. For those of you who have not seen the video of McCarthy’s
address, you may find it here.
Certainly, none of us would
expect McCarthy to discuss how traditional gun control policies seek to disarm law-abiding citizens while ignoring violent criminals. Likewise, we wouldn’t expect to
hear McCarthy place the blame for violent crime on a justice system that woefully fails to apprehend, convict and rehabilitate society’s most dangerous elements. No,
we’d never expect to hear McCarthy utter the truth about one of the most contentious issues of the day.
As much as we wouldn’t expect to hear McCarthy speak in
opposition to gun control, it is equally certain that few of us were prepared to hear what actually came from McCarthy’s mouth when he spoke to the St. Sabina’s
congregation. After several minutes of gratuitous self-promotion, McCarthy launched into a racially-charged tirade in which he accused the NRA and law-abiding gun
owners of participating in a government-sponsored program to kill Black people.
Like most of you, we believe an assertion such as McCarthy’s is too nutty to
dignify with a response. But listening to McCarthy’s rant causes us to pause and ponder the Chicago Police Department’s own record on race relations. Furthermore,
given McCarthy’s background, would any of the readers venture a guess as to who McCarthy blames for crime and violence when he’s safe at home among his family and
personal friends?
Gerry McCarthy’s verbal attack on law-abiding citizens serves as an affront to law-enforcement officers everywhere. But, then again, any
suggestion that McCarthy is a law-enforcement officer is a sham. Rather, McCarthy is merely another in a long line of political hacks who have resided in the office of
police superintendant. McCarthy’s job description has nothing to do with law-enforcement and everything to do with enforcing the political agenda of his boss, Rahm
Emanuel. Of course, as we know, Emanuel’s agenda seeks the eventual prohibition of private firearm ownership.
Probably the most ironic thing about McCarthy’s
speech to St. Sabina’s parishioners is that McCarthy delivered his address while standing only a few feet away from Rev. Mike Pfleger. Let us not forget that, a few
years ago, Pfleger urged attendees at a gun control rally to go out and murder gun shop owners and politicians who vote against gun control laws.
McCarthy’s
speech at St. Sabina’s is a mere preview of what law-abiding firearm owners can expect out of the Emanuel administration in the months ahead. Watch the video of
McCarthy’s performance at St. Sabina’s and you will see what we’re up against. And, as always, we really need your financial support to help contain and defeat the
Emanuel Gun Grabbing Machine. So, once you’ve watched the video, please make a generous donation to the ISRA so that Emanuel’s dream of a gun-free Illinois doesn’t
wind up becoming your nightmare.
Also, please pass this alert on to your friends and relatives. Be sure to post this alert to any and all Internet blogs and
bulletin boards to which you belong.
Remember, gun control is a disease and you are the cure.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Pearson Executive
Director Illinois State Rifle Association
HB 3500 passes both houses, lands on Governor's desk Bill protects gun owner privacy.
CHICAGO -- Illinois lawmakers voted overwhelming Friday to bar the public from knowing who holds a firearm owner identification card, a victory
for gun owners who say they have a right to privacy over open-government advocates who say such records should not be secret.
In a 42-1 vote, the Senate passed
a measure overturning a ruling by Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office that said the names are public under the state's open records law. It now goes to Gov. Pat
Quinn, who said he agrees the information should remain confidential and will "act accordingly" after reviewing the legislation.
Madigan's office issued the
decree earlier this year after the Illinois State Police refused to release to The Associated Press the names of 1.3 million people who are registered to own firearms.
The AP's request set off howls of protests from gun owners and the state police, who said they feared criminals would use the information to steal guns or target those
who aren't armed.
"We've always felt that the intent of the FOID law was to keep everything private," said Richard Pearson ( PSO - news - people ), executive
director of the Illinois State Rifle Association. "We have (privacy laws) for medical records ... anything that could be used to do harm to the public should be kept
secure." ...
NRA & ISRA File Suit Against Unconstitutional Ban on Carrying Firearms for Self-Defense in Illinois
Fairfax, Va. -- The National Rifle Association is funding and supporting a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of Illinois’ complete
and total ban on carrying firearms for self-defense outside the home. The case, filed today in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois,
is Shepard v. Madigan. The lead plaintiff is church treasurer Mary Shepard; joining her as co-plaintiff is the Illinois State Rifle Association, the NRA’s state
affiliate.
Mary Shepard is an Illinois resident and a trained gun owner with no criminal record, who is licensed to carry a concealed handgun in two other
states. Because Illinois remains the only state that completely prohibits all law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms for self-defense outside the home, Mary
Shepard also became a crime victim. While working as the treasurer of her church, Mrs. Shepard and an 83-year-old co-worker were viciously attacked and beaten by a
six-foot-three-inch, 245-pound man with a violent past and a criminal record. Mrs. Shepard and her co-worker were lucky to survive, as each of them suffered major
injuries to the head, neck and upper body. Mrs. Shepard’s injuries required extensive surgery and physical therapy.
“Mary Shepard isn't just a victim of the
violent criminal who attacked her," said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. "She is also a victim of anti self-defense
activists in the Illinois legislature who have consistently refused to recognize that good people have the right to protect themselves when they go about their everyday
business. We're pleased that the legislature has come closer this year than ever before to changing the law, but close isn't good enough for Mary Shepard and the
thousands of other Illinois residents who are prohibited by statute from defending themselves outside the home."
Because Illinois statutes prohibit the right
to keep and bear arms and the ability to carry handguns in Illinois, they infringe on the right of the people, including Mrs. Shepard, members of the ISRA and other
law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and are thus null and void.
Cox concluded: "In its historic Heller and McDonald decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear that the Second Amendment protects a fundamental, individual right to
keep and bear arms. Mary Shepard's story highlights the need for law-abiding citizens to be able to fully exercise their Second Amendment rights. Whether through the
legislature or through the courts, we won't rest until that happens. ...
SAF Sues Illinois Over Ban on Carrying Guns for Self-Defense
BELLEVUE, Wash., May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Second Amendment Foundation has filed suit in federal court in Illinois, challenging
the state's complete prohibition on the carrying of firearms in public for the purpose of self-defense.
The lawsuit alleges that Illinois statutes that
completely ban the carrying of handguns for self-defense are "inconsistent with the Second Amendment." Joining SAF are two private citizens, Michael Moore of Champaign
and Charles Hooks of Percy. Named as defendants are Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and State Police Superintendent Patrick Keen. SAF is represented by attorneys
David Jensen and David Sigale. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
"Illinois is currently the only state in the
country that imposes a complete prohibition on the carrying of firearms for personal protection by its citizens," said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. "The
state legislature recently stopped, by a thin margin, a concealed carry measure. After the 2008 Heller ruling and last year's McDonald ruling against the City of
Chicago that incorporated the Second Amendment to the states, one would think that Illinois lawmakers would act quickly to comply with court decisions and the
constitution."
"Illinois is the only state in the country that completely prohibits its citizens from carrying guns for self-defense," Jensen added. "It is
incredible that this situation has persisted even in light of the Supreme Court's rulings in Heller and McDonald, and we look forward to vindicating the rights of the
people of Illinois."
The lawsuit insists this case is not an attempt to force Illinois into some regulatory scheme, but only to clarify that the state's
current regulatory ban on firearms carry is impermissible under the Second Amendment.
"Every other state has some kind of regulatory scenario," Gottlieb noted.
"Even in Wisconsin, where there is no concealed carry statute, the state attorney general has recognized that open carry is legal. Only Illinois makes it statutorily
impossible for average private citizens to carry firearms for self-defense.
"Whether Illinois lawmakers like it or not," he added, "the Second Amendment right
to keep and bear arms is the law of the land. A complete prohibition simply does not pass constitutional muster. The state cannot stick it's head in the sand and
pretend this problem does not exist.."
Information for You on HB-148 - Family and Personal Protection Act: How Did Your Representative Vote Yesterday?
excerpt: Without an official recording of the vote, some of you are left wondering how your Representative voted on the bill, perhaps
depending on who your Representative is or where your district is located.
Thanks to coverage of the Illinois General Assembly by Illinois Statehouse News, you
can see how the votes were cast yesterday before being pulled from consideration, in the image below. Green is "Yes", Red is "No" in the votes cast. This picture is
taken from a screenshot of a very short video that you can watch at Illinois Statehouse
News' YouTube Channel.
Now that you've seen how your Representative voted, what to do? ...
Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police Support Concealed Carry
Chicago - Leaders of the Illinois Assn. of Chiefs of Police voted Wednesday to change their stance on the issue. They now support legalizing
concealed carry.
It’s a big boost for those trying to repeal Illinois’s ban on the concealed carrying of handguns. The group of top cops had long opposed the
idea. They voted two years to go neutral on the issue.
State Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) and leaders of the Illinois State Rifle Assn. have been
negotiating for months with law enforcement officials across the state. Phelps is chief sponsor of a concealed carry proposal that’s already won approval from a
committee of the Illinois House.
Phelps said the measure will likely be amended further. He hopes the General Assembly will send it to Gov. Quinn by the end of
April.
As currently written, the Phelps proposal says the Illinois State Police “shall issue” a concealed carry handgun permit within 75 days after an
application is submitted. ...
Newly Released Polling Data Points to Solid Support for Concealed Carry Legislation in Key Illinois Senate Districts Held by
Democrats
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):
According to a recent survey commissioned by the ISRA, legislation permitting qualified citizens to carry defensive firearms enjoys strong support in key
Democrat-controlled districts of the Illinois Senate.
Conducted by We Ask America, the telephone poll queried approximately 1,000 adults in each of four
Illinois State Senate districts. Respondents were asked four questions related to personal safety, self defense, and concealed carry legislation. Select polling
results are as follows:
In the 3rd Senate district, 45.9% of those polled supported concealed carry legislation while 35.3% of those polled opposed such
legislation. The 3rd Senate district seat is currently held by Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago).
In the 14th Senate district, a full 50.6% of those surveyed
supported concealed carry legislation while 34% of respondents opposed such legislation. The 14th Senate district seat is held by Senator Emil Jones III (D-Chicago).
In the 22nd Senate district, support for concealed carry legislation was found to be 47.4% while opposition to such legislation was found to be 35.2%. The
22nd Senate district is currently held by Senator Mike Noland (D-Elgin).
In the 43rd Senate district, 55% of citizens polled expressed support for concealed
carry legislation while 29.3% of those surveyed opposed such legislation. The 43rd Senate district seat is held by Senator A. J. Wilhelmi (D-Crest Hill).
The
survey also revealed that between 83% and 88% of citizens polled believe that they have the right to defend themselves and their families from harm. In what will
certainly be disappointing news for the Chicago Police Department, only 36.2% of respondents from the 3rd Senate district expressed confidence that police can protect
them from being robbed or assaulted. Likewise, only 41.8% of those polled from the 14th Senate district feel that the police are capable of protecting them from harm.
All polling results are subject to a +/- 3% margin of error.
Further details about the poll will be made available during a press conference to be held at the
Illinois Capitol on Tuesday, March 29th. Final arrangements for the press conference are pending.
"Personal security is a big issue for so many Illinois
citizens," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. "From our polling data, it is clear that a large majority of citizens believe that they have a right to
defend themselves and their families from harm. It is equally clear that a large portion of residents of the senate districts we polled believe that carrying a
defensive firearm is a valid way of ensuring that right to self defense."
"We selected these four senate districts for polling because we believe that they
serve as a bellwether for both urban and suburban populations on key issues like concealed carry," continued Pearson. "With support for concealed carry this strong in
these four districts, it's a given that concealed carry enjoys solid support across northern Illinois and urban centers south of I-80 as well. Legislators in such
districts would do well to pay attention to what their constituents are telling them about personal safety and the right of self defense."
The ISRA is the
state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding
Illinois firearm owners.
ISRA’s LAWSUIT, INCLUDING TRO RELIEF, HAS EXCELLENT RESULTS Updated!
The lawsuit filed on behalf of ISRA and its members on March 10, 2011, is moving forward with excellent results. After Attorney General Lisa
Madigan announced that her office believes that release of FOID information to the public is proper under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, the ISRA filed suit
in Peoria (10th Judicial District) seeking a temporary restraining order preventing the release of names of FOID holders.
As previously reported, the temporary
restraining order (TRO) was granted by judge Scott Shore, who then scheduled a status hearing for March 15th to set a date set for hearing arguments regarding the
issuance of a preliminary injunction, since the TRO normally expires in ten days.
Prior to his court appearance on behalf of ISRA and the member plaintiffs,
attorney Stanley Tucker was notified of a letter sent to Attorney General Lisa Madigan that was signed by 12 ( a majority) of the Illinois congressional delegation. The
non-partisan letter requested Lisa Madigan to rescind an attorney general directive issued to the Illinois State Police that sided with the FOIA request made by the
Associated Press’ representa-tive that the ISP release the names of FOID holders
The latest court order extended the TRO indefinitely, until further order
of court, and another “status” hearing was scheduled for April 14th. The defendants may file pleadings requesting additional relief, but for now the privacy of
law-abiding firearm owners and the interest of public safety remain protected.
ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearm
ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.
Illinois State Rifle Association Secures Temporary Restraining Order Against Release of Firearm Owners' Personal
Information
PEORIA, Ill., March 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):
The ISRA is pleased to announce that it has secured a temporary restraining order against the release of personal information belonging to persons holding Illinois
Firearm Owner Identification cards (FOID). The ISRA and four additional plaintiffs filed for the temporary restraining order after Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan announced that her office believes that release of FOID information to the public is proper under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The ISRA is very
concerned that public release of personal information from the FOID database will jeopardize the safety of law-abiding firearm owners.
The temporary
restraining order was granted by judge Scott Shore of the 10th Judicial District, Peoria County. Judge Shore has scheduled a status call for March 15th, at which time
a date will be set for hearing arguments regarding the issuance of a preliminary injunction.
"Law-abiding Illinois firearm owners can breathe a little easier
today," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. "Judge Shore's order will prevent the Illinois State Police from releasing personal information on FOID
holders to news organizations, gun control groups, gangs, and other criminals. We are confident that we will eventually secure a permanent injunction against the
release of FOID data."
The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearm ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has
represented the interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.
Lisa Madigan: ISP must release names of FOID holders Updated!
SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says state police must release the name of everyone in the state who is authorized to own a
gun.
State police determine who gets a Firearm Owners Identification card, which allows people to own guns. The police have always kept the list private.
But Madigan's public access counselor released a letter Monday night saying the information should be public.
The Associated Press had requested the
list of FOID cardholders but state police said that would violate the privacy of gun owners. The attorney general's office ruled that argument invalid. ...
Posted Tue Mar 1 13:38:04 CST 2011
Updated Wed Mar 2 15:48:03 CST 2011
Man Claims Violation Of Rights After Gun Permit Was Denied
CHICAGO (STMW) — A man filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming that his constitutional right to bear arms was violated when he was denied a Chicago
firearm permit.
Shawn Gowder claims that he lives in a high crime area of Chicago and wished to keep a handgun in his home for self-defense, according to a
lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. He already holds a state firearm owner’s identification card.
The suit claims that he filed Nov. 1, 2010 for a city
firearm permit but was denied by the city’s Department of Administrative Hearings because he had a 1995 misdemeanor conviction for possessing a firearm on a public
street. Gowder has never been convicted of a felony, according to the suit.
Gowder contested the decision claiming that denying a permit based solely on a
prior misdemeanor conviction violated his fundamental right to keep and bear arms under the second and fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution, according to the
suit ...
excerpt Applicants must attend a five-hour training course consisting of an hour of range training and four hours of classroom training
by a state-certified firearms instructor. At the end of the course, the applicant must submit an affidavit signed by the instructor saying the applicant successfully
completed the course.
Applicants must turn in their applications in person between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Chicago police records customer service
section at 4770 S. Kedzie Ave. They must have the application, all of the supporting documents and the $100 fee. The application can be downloaded at
https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath. ...
SAF Sues Chicago Over Gun Range Prohibition on 1A, 2A Grounds
CHICAGO, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of
Chicago's new gun ordinance, asserting that "by banning gun ranges open to the public…under color of law," the city is depriving citizens of their right to keep and
bear arms in violation of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Joining SAF in this lawsuit are the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), Action
Target, Inc., and three individual plaintiffs including a retired Chicago police detective. They are represented by attorneys Alan Gura of Virginia and David Sigale of
Chicago, who teamed up with SAF and ISRA on the landmark case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, which incorporated the Second Amendment to the states, effectively
striking down Chicago's 28-year-old handgun ban.
"While the city has adopted new regulations that make it legal to own handguns," said SAF Executive Vice
President Alan M. Gottlieb, "they have crafted this new ordinance to make it virtually impossible for prospective gun owners to meet all legal requirements unless they
travel outside the city for mandatory training. The new ordinance prohibits public gun ranges inside the city yet the city demands that handgun owners get at least one
hour of range training time.
"This is a 'Catch-22' scenario," he continued, "that seems deliberately designed to discourage Chicago residents from exercising
their firearm civil rights barely two months after those rights were restored by the Supreme Court."
Individual plaintiffs are Rhonda Ezell, a victim of three
attempted burglaries who has disabilities making it difficult for her to travel outside the city; Joseph Brown, a WWII U.S. Army veteran who was among the liberators of
the infamous Dachau concentration camp, and William Hespen, a retired police detective, all of whom must qualify for Chicago Firearms Permits.
Action Target, a
Utah-based company, builds shooting ranges and manufactures gun range equipment and supplies. It has a long history of providing gun safety equipment and training, and
has previously built law enforcement shooting ranges in Chicago. However, Action Target is prohibited from building a public target range within the city's limits under
the restrictions of the new gun ordinance.
Randy Graham, vice president of Action Target, said, "We believe that citizens have a constitutional right to use
and train with firearms in a safe and controlled environment. As a leader in the firearms training industry, Action Target is committed to standing up for these
rights."
"By banning public gun ranges," Gottlieb said, "and by banning the loan and rental of firearms at such ranges, Chicago is acting under color of law to
deprive citizens of their right to keep and bear arms, and to conveniently receive the education required under the ordinance that is necessary to obtain a Chicago
Firearms Permit. The city is violating both the Second and First amendments, and we are asking the court to put an end to this nonsense."
The Second Amendment
Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and
heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs
designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
THE DIGGINS DECISION HAS BEEN INCORRECTLY INTERPRETED BY MANY, OPENING THE DOOR TO ARREST AND PROSECUTION from ISRA
Attorney Victor Quilici
Since People v. Diggins was decided by our State Supreme Court, a number of articles, commentaries and general blogging have circulated
stating that guns can be easily and safely transported in motor vehicles in just about every manner possible, loaded, unloaded, and in some cases in fanny packs worn
by drivers and/or passengers. Nothing can be further from the truth than those type of analysis.
To begin with, Diggins focuses on the language in the UUW
statute that relates to “aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.” The State Supreme Court addressed the exemption provisions of Section 24-1.6 (c)(iii) which provides that
a person is not guilty of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon if that weapon is “unloaded and encased in a case, firearm carrying box, shipping box, or other
container by a person who has been issued a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card.” The Court begins by noting: “[W]e are asked to determine whether
the center console of a vehicle is a ‘case’ within the meaning of this provision. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that it is.”
One of the first
points the Supreme Court states was that a prior decision by the 4th District Court of Appeals was flawed when it held that a glove compartment was not a “case”
within the meaning of the exemption language because a glove compartment is not portable.
Even though the Supreme Court made that observation, that does
not mean that it ruled expressly that glove compartments are cases. While part of its analysis, it was not part of the Court’s decision. That determination
must come in another decision, when the issue is squarely before the Court. Also, that observation may be quoted in future cases.
What is important in Diggins,
is that the Supreme Court holds that a case does not have to be a container specific to a firearm and it need not be limited to something portable. The Court’s
language is understandable to non-attorneys when it says: “Unpersuaded by the State’s arguments, we conclude that the legislature used the broad general term
‘case’ unmodified. Giving the word ‘case’ its plain and ordinary meaning, as we must, permits but one conclusion: the term ‘case’ in Section 24-1.6 (c)(iii) includes
any portable or non-portable receptacle and need not be interpreted only in reference to firearms. . . . Based on the foregoing, we find, in the case at bar that
a center console of a vehicle falls within the ordinary definition of case. . . . Whether the statute is wise or the best means to achieve the desired result are
matters left to the legislature, not the court.”
Special Note from the ISRA Webmaster: This analysis is not to be construed as legal advice. Please
consult with your own attorney for such advice.
Posted Sun Nov 15 18:53:16 CST 2009
WARNING TO ALL MEMBERS REGARDING HOSPITALIZATION AND DOMESTIC DISPUTES
Recent Illinois Law (PA 95-0564) provides that health care professionals report patients to the state police anyone that they believe might pose
a danger to themselves or others. ISRA has learned of situations where a party has been admitted to a hospital for stress, alcohol treatment, or other scenarios where
part of the admission procedure included a short interview with a psychologist on staff. Questions asked, include gun ownership, and/or the Possession of a FOID card.
Within a few weeks that individual receives a notice from the Illinois State Police revoking his or her FOID.
Obviously, when being interviewed by somebody in
a hospital setting, ask if he or she is a psychiatrist or a psychologist, who you don’t have to communicate with. And, be sure what information you are willing to
disclose to any interviewer. Of course, you should not lie, but a simple refusal to disclose gun ownership may be enough to avoid the problem.
If you think you
may be in a situation where the justice system may become involved with restricting your ownership of firearms, such as when facing hospitalization, or in a domestic
dispute, unless caught up in an emergency situation, be sure to have your firearms removed from the home as quickly as possible, in the care of a friend or family
member who possesses a FOID, and who lives a good distance from your residence. Also, advise your spouse or other party who shares the home with you that you have done
so. Most importantly, in any court setting, you will then be able to assure the Judge, that although you possess a FOID, you have removed all firearms from within the
home.
These tips can save your firearms from being confiscated and/or your FOID being revoked. ISRA is working to solve these problems, both legislatively, and
through litigation.
