Let me start off by wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays of the year.  Thanksgiving is not about Black Friday sales, special deals on a new sofa or pair of shoes, it’s about appreciating the freedoms we have.  Let’s stop and give thanks to all those who sacrificed so much for us.

Hunting season is here and as I reported, duck numbers are down.  In fact, most of mother nature’s creatures are struggling because of lack of habitat.  Whether it’s ducks, pheasants, rabbits, deer, quail, wild turkeys or whatever, the key to their survival is habitat.  I wish everyone would support organizations which restore habitat.  The restoration of habitat for game animals also restores habitat for all wildlife.  Everything from songbirds to butterflies are also helped.  One area I helped restore years ago is now a stopover for migrating monarch butterflies.  It is very exciting to see hundreds of thousands of these butterflies resting along their annual journey.

The media reports that the percentage of new people applying for new concealed carry permits is going down across the country.  Some of these numbers can be deceiving and of course, the lame stream media wouldn’t want to set the record straight.  For example, when Illinois had only 100,000 Concealed Carry Licenses, an increase of 5000 licenses was approximately five percent.  Now we are at roughly 450,000 Illinois Concealed Carry Licenses.  If we have a two percent increase that is a 9000 license increase.  The percentage is less but the numbers are more.  Nationally, with many states going to constitutional carry or permit less carry, it is impossible to tell how many people are carrying but I can tell you it is a lot more than the lame stream media wants to report.

The Safe-T Act is looming ever closer to becoming the law of the land, well Illinois land anyway, on January 1, 2023.  If you don’t have an Illinois Concealed Carry License you should get one.  These people fear nothing, and many will stop at nothing to get what they want.  This week, a member reported someone stealing the license plate off his daughter’s car while she was sitting in the car.  Come January 1^st, they will be bolder yet.

Jeff Cooper, who along with Ray Chapman, developed modern defensive pistol shooting and had what I call the three “Bs of Self Defense”.  “Be Harsh, Be Tough and Be Ruthless”.  It is time to toughen up buttercup.

Second Veto Session will be next week.  I don’t expect much to happen.

The coming Lame Duck Session is an entirely different story.  The Democrat Caucus has been working on a series of anti-gun bills that will attack gun ownership in a variety of different ways.  Last week I told you about a bill (SB4224) that would ban gun raffles for fundraisers.  When Lame Duck Session starts, I am sure we will see even more anti-gun bills.  I would expect a so-called “assault weapons“ ban to be the centerpiece.  Governor Pritzker has already announced his support for such a bill.  I’m sure he will announce it again with a lot of fanfare.  I also expect magazine bans and who knows what else.  These bills will be dumped into the House Rules Committee or the Senate Assignments Committee and then come flying out into various committees for hearings.  Although there will be little time to file witness slips, it still needs to be done.  They could very well go to an hour posting notice (in other words, you would have only an hour).  Please go to the ISRA website tutorial on witness slips and be ready. 

When will Lame Duck Session start?  It could start at any time.  The most likely days in my view, would be January 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th, and the following week of January 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th.

The new 103^rd General Assembly will be seated at noon on January 11^th, the second Wednesday.  Whatever happens will be a prelude to the Spring Legislative Session.  I expect it to be ugly.

The NYRPA v Bruen is yielding lots of challenges to unconstitutional gun laws.  One case I am watching Is a New York Case known as Christian et al v Nigrelli et al.  A New York judge has Issued a preliminary injunction in the Christian et al v. Nigrelli et al case.  This is a good indication that he will issue a permanent injunction.  Of course, this will have to go up to the Appellate Court and on to the Supreme Court of the United States, but it is a start.  While this is a private property case, it is part of a recent New York law that bans concealed carry in public parks.  We, in Illinois, will be watching this case closely because we also have a ban on carrying in public parks.  When the Illinois law was passed, the Bruen case did not exist.  How this all comes out will influence our actions In Illinois.

The Oregon Firearms Federation (OFF) is challenging a new Oregon law which limits magazine capacities to 10 rounds.  OFF is a new organization limited to Oregon.  It is worth noting that a couple of billionaires financed the passing of the voter approved referendum which created the new Oregon gun law.  Just because voters passed the law does not mean it is constitutional.

The ISRA has extended the life upgrade promotion until December 16^th.  If you would like to take advantage of the upgrade promotion, please email member@isra.org.  We will email you information.  Please let us know your date of birth and if you are eligible for American Hero Status.  American Hero status requires that you be past or present U. S. military, police officer, firefighter or EMT. 

We will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Friday.

Tidbits:
November 24, 2022 - Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. 

November 24, 1963 - Jack Ruby kills Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of the Dallas police station.  I was watching it on television when it happened.  Many think Jack Ruby’s killing of Oswald was all part of an alleged conspiracy surrounding the assassination of Kennedy.  What do I think if anyone wants to know?  I think there is a lot more that went on than we will ever know.  I smell a rat or maybe a lot of rats.

November 25, 1783 - The last British soldiers leave New York.  The Treaty of Paris was signed three months earlier.  There were still a lot of British loyalists in New York.  Things were not as clean cut as many believe.

November 25, 2022 - Christmas is only a month away.  Yikes!

November 26, 1941 - President Franklin Roosevelt signs a bill officially making Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday in November.  Until then, it could be moved around and was sometimes a political football.  FDR tried to move Thanksgiving to extend the Christmas shopping season to gain favor from businesses.  Americans did not like the idea of politicizing Thanksgiving.  FDR knew he made a mistake and signed the bill.

November 26,1942 - The film “Casablanca“ opens in theaters.  The film starred Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.  While it is fiction, it gives the mood and flavor of what it was like in WWII.  It is worth watching. 

November 27,1095 - Pope Urban II calls for the first crusade.  Christians often made pilgrimages to Jerusalem but when the Seljuk Turks captured the city, they banned Christians.  Pope Urban II took advantage of the situation and saw it as an opportunity to bring Europeans together to fight for a cause.  It worked.  Urban was an excellent leader.  In 1099, the Christians, through pure force of numbers, captured Jerusalem.  Urban died two weeks before the victory.  This crusade was the first of seven to the Holy Land which is now known as the Middle East.  This conflict has been going on for 1000 years.  Does anyone really think it will be settled any time soon?

November 28, 1943 - President Franklin Roosevelt attends the Tehran Conference to plan the invasion of Europe.  Besides Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin were there.  There is a lot to this tidbit.  The code name Operation Overlord was chosen.  Later, Roosevelt and Churchill met and decided General Dwight Eisenhower would be in charge of Operation Overlord.

November 30, 1964 - A meteorite crashes through the roof of the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama.  The meteorite weighed eight and a half pounds.  The meteorite bounced off a radio and hit Mrs. Hodges in the hip.  She recovered.  Chinese history has recorded people getting hit and killed by meteorites.

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Saturday, November 26, 2022
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Tuesday, November 29, 2022
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Wednesday, November 30, 2022
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Thursday, December 1, 2022
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Saturday, December 3, 2022
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Sunday, December 4, 2022
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Tuesday, December 6, 2022
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Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Pellet Rifle League
Women’s Pistol Team Practice

Thursday, December 8, 2022
Women’s Pistol Team Practice

Gun & Trade Shows

Central Illinois Gun Collectors New Berlin Show – New Berlin, IL
Sangamon County Fairgrounds
Dates: November 26 & 27, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00
             Sunday: 9:00-2:00
Admission: $5.00

Sauk Trail Gun Show – Princeton, IL
Bureau County Fairgrounds
Dates: November 26 & 27, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-4:00
             Sunday: 8:30-3:00
Admission: $5.00

Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club Gun & Knife Show – Chillicothe, IL
Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club
Dates: December 3 & 4, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-4:00
             Sunday: 8:30-3:00
Admission: $3.00

Will County Gun Show – Peotone, IL
Will County Fairgrounds
Dates: December 3 & 4, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-3:00
             Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00

Crown Point Gun Show – Crown Point, IN
Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: December 3 & 4, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

Peoria Gun & Knife Show – Peoria, IL
Exposition Gardens
Dates: December 10 & 11, 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: December 11, 2022
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:30
Admission: $7.00