The Illinois State Police has reported the number of Illinois Concealed Carry Licenses has surpassed 378,000.  The original goal was to reach 300,000 and we have well exceeded that number.  It is possible we will reach 400,000 ICCLS in 2021.

The State of Illinois has submitted their reply to the court in the ISRA FOID card case.  All the preliminary work is done and now we have to wait for a court date.  In the past, it has taken anywhere from one month to six months for that to happen.  As I have mentioned before, watching paint dry is quite exciting compared to waiting for courts and court cases to move.  When something happens it will be posted in the Thursday Bulletin.

Due to inclement weather, the ISRA office is closing for the remainder of the day.

We are entering the legislative season which is the most dangerous time for citizens.  Most firearm owners pay attention to federal and state legislation.  The primary job of the ISRA is to handle legislation in the Illinois State Legislature.  That does not mean we ignore federal and local legislation.  Local legislation at the county, city, village or other forms of local government can be just as dangerous.  Zoning boards are a particular headache.  The fact is, I look at all forms and levels of government with a jaundiced eye.  Every level of government has huge power when compared to the individual citizen. Most of the time, people who serve on local government boards are good people but every once in a while, somebody gets elected who believes they are God’s gift to us all.  These people become tyrants.  Someone once said “There is no tyrant like a small tyrant.”  They knew what they were talking about.

The Ranges are closed this afternoon due to the extreme weather.

I am watching anti-gunners on the march in several states.  The greatest change is in the State of Virginia but the anti-gun push is on in Washington, Oregon and New Mexico.  I call this Creeping Californiaism (CC for short).  The heck with the COVID-19, CC is much more dangerous.  All joking aside, the only cure for this is for gun owners to stop ranting and get organized and stay organized.  It takes money to fight these people and their anti-gun agenda.  It takes more than just to say we have a Second Amendment; gun owners have to fight to keep it.  Not only do we have to fight for it, we have to fight for it in an organized manner if we expect to win.  Of all the State Associations, the ISRA is the most organized.  It is time for people in every state to stop depending on organizations like the NRA to do everything.  When I first started fighting for gun rights, everyone looked around and waited for the NRA to come galloping in on a big white horse and save the day.  Early on, those of us in the ISRA understood that someday the big white horse wouldn’t make it.  I am not saying we should abandon the NRA, in fact, we should support them even more but for the foreseeable future the Washington D.C. swamp is going to keep them busy.  We need to take care of ourselves in our home states.

In a previous Thursday Bulletin I mentioned when the Illinois General Assembly would go back into session.  There have already been changes.  The Illinois House of Representatives will only meet one day in February, the 10th.  On this day they will adopt rules to hold subject matter hearings remotely.  They will not, and should not, have hearings which will advance bills and resolutions remotely.  We will keep you updated.