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I would like to say something about our lobbyists. Remember sometime in the past
when you got an alert about Senate Bill so & so or House Bill da da dat. All of
a sudden in the pit of your stomach comes this aching little groan. You say to
yourself, “Oh no here we go again”. You promise yourself that later at work you
definitely will find time to make calls to your Representatives telling them to
oppose that bill.
Yet somehow all day long it eats at your stomach and you keep thinking, “Man
that means I won’t be able to own my semi-automatic shotgun or maybe I will have
to give up my favorite muzzleloader that I have so much fun with, because it’s
also a
50 cal”. Then some anger sets in and you want to go grab all those people in
Springfield by the collar and tell them these are your rights they are dealing
with and not criminals—cant’ they see that. Don’t they have any common sense!
You of course know grabbing them by the collar would only make your opinion look
worse, but how you wish you could at least tell them in person or be there to
speak when the bill comes up for a vote. But we all have a living to make and
it’s impossible to take off work and go down there every time one of these silly
things appears on the docket.
Then a little relief comes because you know there are lobbyists from the ISRA
and the NRA who definitely will be there to express your views, plus tell the
legislature exactly how these bills are wrong and the effect they will have on
law-abiding gun owners. Then you think.” Thank God I belong and help support
those guys”.
In Illinois we have Richard Pearson and James Vinopal from the ISRA doing
exactly that for you. On the NRA side you have Todd Vandermyde also working for
you. These fellows put in an awful lot of their time doing footwork, going to
legislator’s offices and talking to them just as you wanted to do. They make
phone calls, send out alerts, do paperwork, and spend many a late hour chasing
around to meet people. They are doing one hell of a job! They bust their butt
for you, so you can feel somewhat relaxed at work knowing they are speaking your
concerns.
I think a lot of time these guys are taken for granted. Everyone likes to get a
pat on the back and get told –great job you did well. We all find time to send
jokes on the Internet and BS with all our friends. I am asking each one of you
that read this to take 5 minutes and
write an email to these men and just tell them how much you appreciate what
they do. You can address the one letter to all three of them. Don’t you think
once in a while they sit and wonder if we are thinking about them and what there
doing for us down there. You bet they do, it’s only human. Just recently many of
Daley's gun bills bit the dust. Well these three guys were there when the dust
settled brushing themselves off and smiling from ear to ear. Please take a
moment to just say thanks for what your not able to do, but yet they are
accomplishing. The next move is yours so pull that keyboard closer!! God bless
and thanks for letting me share some small talk with you.
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