Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson The Chicago Tribune Doesn’t Like It That Law-Abiding Gun Owners are Defending
Themselves In a city where criminals know they can get away with violence and criminal shootings – even when police are involved – it’s not surprising that law-abiding Chicagoans would consider arming themselves and, God-forbid, having to use their firearm for self-defense in protection of their families. We’ve been covering how slow or even non-existent police response times have become across the country, due to declining funding and resources, despite overwhelming cries for help. The crime situation is so bad there that residents must rely on themselves for safety. In fact, according to NSSF-adjusted NICS data, nearly 200,000 firearms have been purchased
during the first five months of this year alone, including in Chicago. When you know that more than 50 percent of high-priority calls to emergency dispatchers go unanswered, you have no other choice but to exercise your Second Amendment right to purchase a firearm and use that firearm in lawful and legal self-defense Well, the Chicago Tribune editorial board finally decided to speak out.
“Worryingly, we’re seeing more signs of that phenomenon in Chicago, with three separate episodes over the last weekend in which would-be victims proved to be both armed and willing to fire at their assailants,” the board chose to write. They are just now waking up? It must be nice to live in such an Ivory Tower. The editorial continues: “But we’re convinced the majority of
Chicagoans don’t feel any safer when they read stories of good-guy-with-a-gun responses to street crime… Overall, it’s an unhealthy environment in a city when gun-packing citizens become more the norm than the exception.” Armed Citizen Saves Neighbor Kids from Potential Stabbing Terrel Majette was
sitting on his front porch in the town of Franklin, Virginia one evening last week when he was alerted to two kids running toward his house with terror in their eyes. As the kids approached him, and his brother, the girl yelled that they were being chased by a man with a knife. She ran up onto the porch while the boy continued running for his house. Majette could see the man with two knives in his hand, about three houses down, then he ran inside to get his gun. When he stepped back out on his porch, the man was running at full speed and almost to his yard but stopped when he saw Majette holding his gun. Meanwhile, his wife was calling the authorities, and the little girl was safely inside their house. Majette said, “I asked him multiple times to please go home as he continued to stand there wielding one of his knives.” By the time officers responded to the scene, the man identified as Willis Barry Jr, had run into a nearby home. Authorities were able to take him into custody for a mental health evaluation. One of the officers knew Barry from a previous Emergency Custody Order (ECO). Majette stated that
he'd seen Barry in the neighborhood before and "figured he had some sort of mental illness", but the threat of violence was still surprising. He continued, “that he had no desire to shoot Barry, but he wasn't about to "allow him to hurt anyone”. This isn't the first time that Majette's been faced with a life-threatening encounter. He shared that he had been the victim of an armed robbery in Atlanta five years ago which left him with PTSD. And yet that didn’t prevent him from acting quickly in
defense of his young neighbors from the knife-wielding man who was chasing them. It just goes to show that you always need to be ready and have a gun within close proximity, wherever you may be. Remington Auction On July 11, 2024, there will be an online auction of any leftover equipment from the Remington factory in Ilion, New York. This is a no reserve auction. It will end Remington's tenure in New York state which was started in 1816. I am sure Remington will do very well in its new manufacturing plant in Tennessee. | 
