The lessons from the Virginia elections should be on the minds of every gun owner in Illinois and everywhere else.  The liberal Democrats have won both chambers in the Virginia Legislature and control the Governorship.  I know you are thinking, so what else is new?  The point is it did not need to happen.  Virginia has been a Red State for 25 years.  Michael Bloomberg poured millions into the election.  While that is a factor, it is not the only reason gun owners lost in Virginia.  They lost for all the classic reasons.

Due to the extreme weather, the ISRA office is closed.  We will re-open tomorrow, November 12, 2019.

When I meet individuals who have served in the United States military, I always try to thank them for their service. I think it is important to express gratitude to those who willingly step up to serve the cause of freedom by serving in our military.

The arrival of November, cooler weather and the deer rut are coming together at the right time to make a really good deer season.  The Illinois deer harvest is up considerably from 2018, at least so far.  The deer archery season is 10,167; last year, the harvest was 7349.  The youth deer shotgun season is equally good with the harvest at 3775, while last year was 1659.  I’m not sure what this bodes for the regular season but I am guessing it will be a good one.  Now is the time to recheck all your hunting gear to make sure you have everything you need. 

The Illinois State Police conducted the requested public hearing on the Proposed Administrative Rules for the Gun Dealer Licensing Act on October 24.  The public hearing lasted a little more than 90 minutes and everyone was given ample opportunity to testify and provide additional written comments.  Thirteen different people offered comments on the Proposed Rules, with 5 of them having the opportunity to offer additional comments.  Gun dealers from every corner of the state testified, from those in urban and rural areas, those who are mom and pop operations, as well as large scale operations.  Only one person spoke in favor of the Proposed Rules, someone from the Gun Violence Prevention Center.  That person suggested that the one inspection a year should be amended to state that law enforcement follow-up on traces shouldn’t count towards the one per year inspection.

One of the many jobs I have become involved with over the years is working as an expert consultant and expert witness with various law firms and private attorneys on firearm industry related cases, private gun owner cases and use of deadly force cases.

I am often asked what it is like in Springfield.  Let me say that any legislative body tends to be messy.  The bigger the legislative body or the bigger the jurisdiction it represents, the messier it is.  Illinois is one of the bigger legislative bodies and jurisdictions as far as population.  It is more than just issues; it is all the people, organizations and bureaucratic government entities that will be affected, or at least think they will be affected.  Most of the time we pretty well know who these are but it is not uncommon for one of these people or groups to come forward that we may not have recognized or anticipated.  Many times, people have misinterpreted what they read or understood.  Sometimes people see things we did not see.  What I have learned is that the simple answer may not be so simple.  Whatever the case, it all has to be dealt with.  The ISRA Lobbyists will be there and ready.