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ISRA Thursday Bulletin – January 27, 2022

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ISRA Thursday Bulletin – January 27, 2022

January 27, 2022

I have not flown for a couple of years.  The last time I flew before this SHOT Show was in 2019.  Going out and coming back this time was even less pleasant than in 2019.  Coming back was particularly aggravating.  Sure, I had to show a photo ID every time I walked a few feet while hanging on to my phone and iPad.  When I got to the metal detector, I explained that I had four plates in my neck.  Still, the metal detector found something and I had to be wanded down.  I set that wand off so I had to be patted down.  Still nothing, so I went to pick up my shoes, watch, backpack, coat and other items in the two trays I had crammed everything onto.  One tray went one way and the other tray had gone down another way.  The tray with my backpack had to be searched.  My backpack was full of such terrorist items as pens, paper and my meds.  I learned the hard way a few years ago, if you take meds, keep them with you.  Once, my luggage went to San Francisco but I went to Washington D. C.  Not good.  After my backpack was searched and I redressed myself, I was ready to go to the gate.  I admit I muttered to myself about why I had to put up with all this crap.  I had never done anything bad.  I have a FOID card and CCL and go through background checks every night and the TSA people don’t go through any.  All that gave away to dealing with driving on the Tristate Expressway, Interstates 88, 355 and 55.  When I got to the last 30 miles, the road is a nice blacktop two lane road occupied with about 10 vehicles and a couple of rabbits.  Wonderful.  When I got home, my blood pressure had dropped to normal levels.  Then I turned on the TV to see the latest news.  It was then I learned the TSA had ruled that illegal aliens can use their arrest warrants to board airplanes.  I wondered what illegal aliens use for a photo ID, their wanted poster?  I did not check my blood pressure before going to bed.

The SHOT Show which is a function of the National Shooting Sports Foundation did a nice job of bringing governors in from several pro-gun states.  In attendance were Governors Brian Kemp (Georgia), Pete Ricketts (Nebraska), Kristi Noem (South Dakota), Mark Gordon (Wyoming), Mike Dunleavy (Alaska) and Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas.  These states are all firearm friendly states to both industries and gun owners.  Companies and people are moving to these states.  These states are trying to attract hunters and recreational shooters.  The shooting sports are a big part of the economies of these states.  Law abiding gun owners are everywhere in these states and there is very little crime, for obvious reasons. 

In 1971, Herman Wouk published a book titled “The Winds of War”.  The story dealt with what was going on in the United States between 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  What is happening now with the weakness of our leadership in Washington D.C. and the actions of Russia and China reminds me of that time.  Dictators like Russia’s Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping smell weakness like a shark smells blood in the water.  Putin’s actions in the Ukraine and China’s violating the Taiwanese air space got the expected reaction from President Biden, nothing or nothing that mattered anyway.  The winds of war are getting stronger.  If they blow into a storm, don’t be surprised.

I regret to report that the last of the Tuskegee Airmen has passed away at the age of 102.  Brigadier General Charles McGee flew in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.  General McGee flew 409 combat missions.   He and the rest of the “Red Tails” were true American heroes. 

We have the details and costs for the Range Officer, Marksmanship 101 Rifle and Marksmanship 101 Pistol classes taught by the CMP and the Army Marksmanship unit at the ISRA Range in Bonfield, IL, on October 1 and October 2, 2022.  In addition, the CMP will be conducting in-person training for Level II Range Officer training on Friday, September 30, 2022.  They will be offering a Rifle Range Officer Level II training from 8:00 am to Noon on Friday, September 30, 2022.  The Pistol Range Officer Level II training will be from 1:00pm to 3:00 pm on Friday, September 30, 2022.  In order to attend these classes, you will have to show completion of the Level I class before you can register for the Level II class. 

The Level I Range Officer class is $75 and is an online class; register here: https://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2021-RO-Level-I-Application.pdf

The Level II class is $40: use this link for the Level II application: https://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-RO-Level-II-Application.pdf.  I encourage all active RSO’s to do this training.   Please make sure you complete Level I well in advance in order to get all the paperwork that is required for Level II.

The Marksmanship 101 Rifle Class is a two-day class and it will be held on October 1 and October 2, 2022.  The cost is $95 for adults and $85 for Juniors.  You must register through CMP here: https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=22445.  Firearms and ammunition will be provided by the CMP.  The second day of this class will be a an M16 Highpower rifle match fired on Kongsberg Electronic targets.

The Marksmanship 101 Pistol Class is a one-day class with classroom instruction, range training and practice, followed by firing of an M9 match.  The cost for Pistol 101 is $95 for adults and $85 for Juniors.  This class will be offered on October 1 and October 2, 2022.  Firearms and ammunition will be provided by the CMP.  You must register through the CMP for this class: https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=22445

Once again, this is another great opportunity for everyone to participate in these classes.  We are very fortunate to be working with the CMP and the Army Marksmanship Unit again.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has announced he will retire at the end of this session for the Supreme Courts term.  Technically, the end of the term is June 30 at midnight. The Justices take the summer off and the new term begins in September.  I do not expect anything to happen until late summer.  There is talk of Vice President Kamala Harris being nominated but I don’t think that will happen.  I believe that to be on the United States Supreme Court you have to be a real person, not a mannequin, so my guess, she is out.  Whoever is nominated will be bad news for the Second Amendment community.

The time for filing witness slips has started.  You will be receiving alerts when the committees meet where gun bills are to be presented.  Not all bills in the committee will be heard.  We will send alerts on the ones which will be heard, not the whole list.  If we call for witness slips, we are 99% sure the committee will meet.  Sometimes committees are canceled at the last moment.  If the committee is canceled, the witness slips may have to be filed again at a later date.  Witness slips stay with the bill forever, once accepted.  During floor debates, you will often hear a series of questions on the intent of the bill.  These debates are also retained and may be used years later. 

During floor debates before a vote on a bill, you will usually hear a group of questions and answers on the intent of a bill.  This also stays with the bill.  A few years ago, The Diggins case, which dealt with what constitutes a firearm case, was before the Illinois Supreme Court.  The law which applied in the Diggins case was passed in 1983.  The floor debate and witness slips were recalled by the Illinois Supreme Court from 1983 and used in the court’s ruling.  Do not take any of this kind of stuff lightly.

Please go to the ISRA website and click on Advocacy and there you will find a drop-down box marked legislation.  This is where you will find our position on different bills.  Click on the bill and you will get the text of the bill.  The underlined part of the bill is the proposed changes in the bill.  If the text is not underlined that part is already law and the bill does not deal with any changes there.  Stay tuned for any ISRA Alerts.

Tidbits:

January 27, 1888 – The National Geographic Society (NGS) is founded.  At that time, there were still places on the planet that hadn’t been explored. The NGS paid for expeditions to many of those places.

January 27, 1945 – Soviet soldiers enter the Auschwitz concentration camp.  German SS officers began trying to cover up their crimes.  Six million Jews and five million others were killed in these camps. Auschwitz accounted for 1.1 million people alone.

January 28, 1986 – The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff.  All the Astronauts were killed but not immediately.  Evidence indicates they were alive when they crashed into the sea.   I was watching on television and saw it happen.

January 30, 1933 – The Lone Ranger debuts on Detroit radio.  The fictional hero, his horse (Silver), his Indian sidekick Tonto, and Tonto’s horse (Scout), became a success nearly every kid knew.  As a kid playing cowboys, there was often a big argument over who was going to be The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Tonto and Red Rider.

There were about 50 people who played the Lone Ranger on radio.  One of the actors who played the Lone Ranger on radio was from Grayville, Illinois.  When the transition to television happened, the actor Clayton Moore got the part.  Clayton Moore was the son of a Chicago banker.  Clayton Moore died in 1999 at the age of 85.

January 31, 1944 – D-Day which had been originally planned for late May, was postponed until June 5.  The Allies were concerned that there would not be enough ships available for the invasion troops and supplies.  General Eisenhower postponed the invasion one more day, June 6, because of weather.

February 1, 1790 – The first session of the Supreme Court of the United States is held.  Chief Justice John Jay presiding.

February 2, 1812 – The Russians establish Fort Ross on the Northeast coast of California.

February 2, 1887 – The first Groundhog Day is held at Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, featuring that famous meteorologist Punxsutawney Phil.  This tradition comes from Germany where hedgehogs were used to predict weather.  When Germans settled in the United States, they switched to groundhogs due to a lack of hedgehogs.

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Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar

For more information, visit www.isra.org

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Armed Women of America

Tuesday, February 1 & 8, 2022

Tuesday Night Air Rifle League (5:00-8:00)

Tuesday Afternoon Air Gun League (1:00-5:00)

Saturday, February 5, 2022

Range Work Day

Saturday, February 12, 2022

ISRA Academy NRA Basic Rifle Class

Sunday, February 13, 2022

ISRA Academy NRA Basic Rifle Class

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Air Pistol League

Saturday & Sunday, February 26 & 27, 2022

Illinois CCL Class – 16 Hours

Gun & Trade Shows

Westville Gun Show – Westville, IL

Direside Event Space

Dates: January 29 & 30, 2022

Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00

            Sunday: 8:00-3:00

Admission: Free

Belleville Gun Show – Belleville, IL

Belleville Fairgrounds

Dates: January 29 & 30, 2022

Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00

            Sunday: 9:00-3:00

Admission: $6.00

Quad Cities Gun Show – Rock Island, IL

QCCA Expo Center

Dates: February 12 & 13, 2022

Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00

            Sunday: 9:00-3:00

Admission: $6.00

Kane County Sportsman’s Show – St Charles, IL

Kane County Fairgrounds

Date: February 13, 2022

Hours: 7:30-1:30

Admission: $7.00

Central IL Gun Collectors New Berlin Gun Show – New Berlin, IL

Sangamon County Fairgrounds

Dates: February 19 & 20, 2022

Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00

            Sunday: 9:00-3:00

Admission: $5.00

Boot City Opry Guns, Knives & Outdoorsman Show – Terre Haute, IN

Boot City Opry

Dates: February 19 & 20, 2022

Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00

            Sunday: 9:00-3:00

Admission: $5.00

McHenry County Gun Show – Woodstock, IL

McHenry County Fairgrounds

Date: February 20, 2022

Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:00

Admission: $5.00

Bloomington Gun & Knife Show – Bloomington, IL

Interstate Center

Dates: February 26 & 27, 2022

Hours: Saturday: 9:00-3:00

            Sunday: 9:00-3:00

Admission: $6.00

“Ninety-eight percent of the people in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It’s the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them.”

Lily Tomlin

“The people who work against your gun rights are basically saying to you, “The right of the criminal to rip you off, rape and kill you shall not be infringed.” And they wonder why we’re a bit testy”

Editor of KABA LIBERTY ADVOCATE, Friday, July 30, 2001

“I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.”

SUSAN B. ANTHONY

“You may find me one day dead in a ditch somewhere. But by God, you’ll find me in a pile of brass.”

Tpr. M. Padgett

“Using inner city kids as your proof that guns and kids don’t mix, is like using an alcoholic to prove all people will abuse alcohol.”

Lori Broadhead

“How dare politicians continue to pass insane laws forcing good, law-abiding people to be defenseless and helpless.”

Ted Nugent

The said Constitution [shall] never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe or to prevent the people of the United States from keeping their own arms.”

Samuel Adams, Massachusetts' U.S. Constitution Ratification Convention, 1788

“One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation.”

Thomas B. Reed (1886)

“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”

Thomas Jefferson, Proposed Virginia Constitution (1776)

“Foolish liberals who are trying to read the Second Amendment out of the Constitution are courting disaster by encouraging others to use the same means to eliminate portions of the constitution THEY don’t like.”

Alan Dershowitz

“Every 13 seconds in America someone uses a gun to stop a crime.”

Sen. Larry Craig

“The AK-47 is not a device of aggression … I devised this machine-gun for the security of my country,”

Mikhail Kalashnikov, April 1997