Executive Directors Message
Richard Pearson

The attack on law-abiding citizens owning firearms in both Illinois and Oregon has brought the expected surge in firearm sales.  One Illinois dealer reported handgun sales up 50 percent and the sales of modern sporting rifles up 1000 percent.  The National Instant Check System (NICS) reports that nationally there was a 6.5 percent increase over last year.  Not surprising, considering the threats to citizens’ Second Amendment Rights and increases in the crime rate.

In Florida, HB543, the constitutional carry bill, is already hitting opposition from the lame stream media.  The media is predicting catastrophic results if this bill is passed in Florida, alleging everything just short of the return of the dinosaurs.  They ignore the fact that 25 states already have constitutional carry and the only people suffering are the criminals.  For the record, I don’t care how much criminals suffer, the more the better.  The fact is that concealed carry saves lives.  Hopefully, HB543 will march through the Florida Legislature.

One of the favorite arguments the gun controllers always use is that “if it just saves one life it is worth it”.  That fact is that gun control costs lives.  Approximately 3 to 4 million times a year, armed citizens defend themselves using firearms.  How many of those people would be killed or seriously injured had they not defended themselves?  The anti-gun side does not want you or anyone else to hear those figures.  That is why the anti-gun side pressured the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to stop reporting those numbers.  They, of course, got help from the Biden Obamanation Administration.

Twitter is at it again.  This time, Montana Senator Steve Daines and his wife were tossed into Twitter Jail for posting a picture of a pronghorn antelope they shot on a hunting trip.  Senator Daines had to appeal to the highest Twitter authority, Elon Musk, to bail him out, which he did.  I grew up hunting; for me, it was a way of life.  It is also a way to put really healthy food on the table.  In many parts of the country, hunting supplements is the primary source of protein for many.  Hopefully, Elon Musk will continue to level the Twitter playing field.

On the litigation front, there is not a lot of news but I will give you what I have.  In the Harrel v Raoul suit, which is the ISRA, SAF, FPC et al lawsuit, we have filed a motion for a Preliminary Injunction.  The defendants, Raoul and Kelly, have until March 1, 2023, to respond.  The other cases, the NSSF and NRA, and the Illinois FFLs cases has been assigned to the same judge that we have in the United States Court for the Southern District of Illinois.  There is one more case, the Langley case, filed by attorney Thomas Maag in Crawford County that has also been moved to the U. S. District Court for Southern Illinois and is assigned to the same judge that we have.  There are two more Preliminary Injunctions pending in those cases.

On the state level, former Attorney General Candidate, Tom DeVore, has three suits pending.  An Effingham County judge granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) for 866 plaintiffs in that case.  The   TRO only applies to those plaintiffs.  In another DeVore case, a White County Judge entered a TRO but it also only applies to the named plaintiffs.  In Macon County, State Representative Dan Caulkins also filed a case with that court and was issued a TRO yesterday.

There are two lawsuits in the U.S. Court for Northern District of Illinois that are being amended to include the provisions of HB5471.  I have no details on those yet.  I will let you know as soon as I find out about those suits.  There is another suit in McHenry County but I have no details on that either.  Once again, I will let you know what is happening when I find out.

In last week’s Thursday Bulletin, I listed several other law suits the ISRA is involved in but there is no movement on those suits at this time.  Some of those cases may not move until our federal lawsuit is settled.  In the meantime, the Illinois State Police are enforcing the provisions of HB5471.  If the ISRA gets its Preliminary Injunction, that will apply to everyone in the State of Illinois.

I want to thank all those who have made phone calls, sent emails, notes, and letters to me supporting the ISRA actions in opposing this unconstitutional atrocity that has been perpetrated against law-abiding firearm owners of Illinois.  They are very much appreciated.  Many have asked what more can they do?  First, I would say sign up as many members for the ISRA as you can.  There is strength in numbers.  The more members we have, the stronger we all are.  Next, of course, are donations.  We are fighting the Illinois General Assembly which has unlimited resources.  Even so, I am not discouraged and I don’t want you to be either.  The ISRA is the toughest state association there is but having said that, we need to be even tougher.  We will never quit!

Tidbits:
February 9, 1942 - Daylight Saving Time is instituted.  Right now, about 70 countries participate in  Daylight Saving Time.  (There is no “s” on saving, by the way).  Their goal was to save electricity.  Actually, Daylight Saving Time is not a new idea.  In 1895, George Vernon proposed a shift in time in New Zealand.  He suggested two hours not just one hour.  The idea never caught on.  During WWI, Germany and Austria implemented Daylight Saving Time first.  The idea was quickly followed by the United Kingdom.  The United States implemented it during WWI, but it was repealed in 1919.  In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt asked Congress to reinstitute it.  While it was only temporary, in 1966 it was made permanent.

February 9, 1942 - The largest ocean liner in the world catches fire and sinks.  The French ocean liner, “Normandie” was in New York harbor when France fell to German forces.  The United States Navy took the ship into “protective custody”.  The plan was to refit the ship and make a troop carrier.  The “Nomandie” was the largest ship at the time.  It weighed 85,000 tons and could maintain a speed of over 32 knots.  It was to be renamed the “Lafayette“ but it never happened.  There was much speculation that it was sabotaged but it was more likely a welder’s spark.

February 12, 1809 - Abraham Lincoln is born in Kentucky.  The family moved first to Indiana and then Illinois.  The rest is history.

February 12, 1912 - The last emperor of China abdicates.  He was only six years old.  Sun Yat-Sen’s republican revolution had ended 2000 years of rule of China by emperors.  The young emperor’s name was Hsian-T’ung.  He was allowed to live in the Forbidden City until 1924 when he turned 18.  He changed his name to Henry Pu Yi.  In 1925, he was forced into exile In the Japanese ruled city of Tianjn.  In 1932, when the Japanese took over part of Manchuria, Henry was taken out of mothballs and made the puppet Emperor of Manchukuo for the Japanese.  When the Japanese lost their war, he testified in the war crimes trials against the Japanese.  In !950, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Red Chinese and Chairman Mao.  In 1959, Chairman Mao gave him amnesty.  Henry became an auto mechanic in China.  This was the first time in history that an emperor actually amounted to something.  In any case, Henry Pu Yi had quite a life.

February 14, 270AD - St. Valentine is beheaded.  Valentine was a Catholic priest.  Emperor Claudius II, also known as Claudius the Cruel by the people, wanted more young men to fill his legions.  If they were married, they didn’t want to go.  Claudius banned marriage.  Valentine kept right on marrying young lovers.  Claudius had enough and beheaded him.  Valentine became a martyr.  St Valentine’s Day had a rather gruesome start.  I often think Claudius was bribed by the flower and candy companies.

February 15, 1898 - The Battleship U.S.S. Maine blows up in Havana Harbor.  A Naval Board of Inquiry determined the ship was blown up with a mine.  This led to the Spanish American War.  There was a lot more to it than just this incident.  The cruel treatment of the Cubans by the Spanish irritated the United States.  The war didn’t last long.  The United States was too much for the Spanish to handle.  The Spanish-American War did more for the rise of Theodore Roosevelt and also pushed the United States onto the world stage.  The United States acquired the former Spanish Possessions of the Philippines, Guam, and the Marianas. 

The battleship Maine was the United States’ first battleship.  The keel was laid in 1888.  It was small because of the shallow ports of the United States.  It weighed only 6700 tons and was 324 feet long.  The main armament was four 10-inch guns.  The turrets were not counter balanced so if both turrets were pointed to port or starboard, the ship would roll over.  Still, this was innovative for the time.  This was the first U.S. warship in which its engines were to be a critical part of the defense and offense of the ship.  Its top speed was supposed to be 16 miles an hour, but it could only muster 12 miles an hour on its best day.  The second ship of the Maine class was the U.S.S. Texas which was much improved.  In 1976, another Naval Board of Inquiry determined that a fire in the coal actually ignited the ammunition. The Maine had several spontaneous coal fires.  One of them was burning when the ship exploded.  

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Upcoming Events:

Thursday February 9 & 16, 2023
Women’s Pistol Team Practice

Saturday, February 11, 2023
Winter Wars XIX

Sunday, February 12, 2023
ISRA Academy Basic Rifle Class

Tuesday, February 14 & 21, 2023
Air Gun Practice

Wednesday, February 15 & 22, 2023
Pellet Rifle League

Saturday, February 18, 2023
Private RSO Event

Sunday, February 19, 2023
NRA Rifle Instructor Class

Saturday, February 25, 2023
Armed Women of America

Gun & Trade Shows

Quad Cities Gun Show – Rock Island, IL
QCCA Expo Center
Dates: February 11 & 12, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $8.00

Kane County Sportsman’s Show – St Charles, IL
Kane County Fairgrounds
Date: February 12, 2023
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:30
Admission: $7.00

Central Illinois Gun Collectors Gun Show – New Berlin, IL
Sangamon County Fairgrounds
Dates: February 18 & 19, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00
             Sunday: 9:00-2:00
Admission: $5.00

Crown Point Gun Show – Crown Point, IN
Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: February 18 & 19, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00

Boot City Opry Gun & Knife Show – Terre Haute, IN
Boot City Opry
Dates: February 18 & 19, 2023
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 19, 2023
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:00
Admission: $5.00

Decatur Gun & Knife Show – Decatur, IL
Decatur Conference Center & Hotel
Dates: February 25 & 26, 2023
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $8.00































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