Richard Pearson

The anti-gun crowd always advances their anti-gun agenda by touting some situation which, of course, can only be solved by more restrictive gun control measures.  It doesn’t seem to matter that what they are proposing won’t work or, even worse, will have deleterious effects on law-abiding gun owners. They are purposely misleading people with legislation that is supposed to do one thing when they know it does something else.   One great example is the Red Flag laws that swept through the Illinois General Assembly a few years ago.  Red Flag laws were introduced in almost every state legislature and passed in many of them.  In Illinois, the Red Flag law passed with veto proof majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  The Biden Administration is now pushing them in Congress.

Colorado is a state with a Red Flag law.  On March 22 of this year, a shooter attacked at a big box store and killed several people.  His family knew he was dangerous and did nothing.  So much for that Red Flag law.

More recently, a shooter attacked the FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Indiana has had a Red Flag law since 2005.  In March of 2020, the mother of the FedEx facility shooter reported her son to the police because he had a shotgun and she thought he was dangerous.  The police came and seized the shotgun.  The shooter was found to have mental health problems but the police never reported that to the National Instant Check System.  Had they done so, the shooter would have been flagged and banned from buying any more guns.  The shooter was able to legally buy two more guns.

Maryland also has a Red Flag law.  A year ago, a man was reported to the police as having firearms and acting dangerously.  The police broke his door down at 5:00am in the morning.  The man, thinking someone was breaking into his house, grabbed his trusty 1911 and was promptly shot to death by the police.  It turns out how he was not dangerous.  He had a lady friend who was mad at him and used the Red Flag law to scare him.  To my knowledge, she was never charged.

The latest push by the anti-gun side is Micro Stamping.  This is a solution looking for a problem.  Micro Stamping would require firearms to have a tiny code, matching the serial number of the firearm to be stamped presumably on the firing pin so that empty shell casings could be traced back to the gun.  Of course, it won’t work on revolvers and never mind that someone could pick up your shell casings and drop them at another crime scene so the police would chase you and not the criminal.  If you broke your firing pin and replaced it with another one, but without the micro stamping, it is a class two felony.  You would have to have a firing pin micro stamped with your firearm’s serial number on it.  There is no firearm manufacturer that does micro stamping nor would they want to.  This would add about $150 to every firearm but who cares, firearm owners would have to pay for it.  This bill would allow police departments to get state grants to study this idea to prove that it works.  It would only apply to police firearms but everyone can see where this is going.  The time to stop this idea is now.  The bill number is HB2769.  Call your legislators (find your legislators) and tell them to vote “No” on HB2769.

Yesterday I sent out an alert on HB1091 HFA#1.  This is another version of Kathleen Willis’s “Fix the FOID” push.   I apologize for not supplying more details.  This bill would require mandatory fingerprints and stop private sales of firearms.  If you remember SB1966 from last year this is just another totally unacceptable version.   I do want to thank you for filing out witness slips opposing this bill. Stand by for more alerts. For more information about how to fill out witness slips see this informational video

It is hectic in Springfield right now.  Yesterday the General Assembly passed 268 bills and resolutions. I am sure each bill or resolution was carefully vetted.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has announced that the 2021 U. S. Open Trapshooting Tournament will be held at the World Shooting Complex from June 2 through 6, 2021.  The Grand American and the AIM Trapshooting Championships will be at the World Shooting Complex from July 30 through August 14, 2021.  Last year, these events were moved to other venues because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The World Shooting Complex it located in Sparta, Illinois, and features a 3.5 mile long firing line.

We welcome back Massad Ayoob to our ISRA Range on June 10-13 for the popular MAG-40 Class.  This is an intense four-day, 40-hour immersion course that emphasizes legal issues, tactical issues and aftermath management.  We offer a 10% discount to ISRA members for this class.  To register for this course, contact Andy Kemp at 208.771.3413 or email andy1911@imaxmail.net. 

We are watching the leftists beginning efforts to pack the United States Supreme Court.  If there was ever a Clear and Present Danger to the United States and our way of life, this is it.  I predict that we will soon be teetering on the cusp of disaster.  We all need to resist this harebrained idea.

Tidbits: 
April 22, 1915 - German forces used poison gas against allied troops for the first time.  The Germans had experimented with poison gas against Russian troops in January of 1915.  The first poison gas was chlorine gas.  The effect on the troops was devastating.  There were no gas masks available for protection.  In 1917, the Germans developed and used mustard gas which burned the skin and lungs of the soldiers.  In 1925, the Geneva Protocol banned the use of poison gas.  To this day not every country conforms to that Protocol.

April 22, 1889 - The Oklahoma Land Rush begins.  Nearly two million acres of land were available cheap.
Oklahoma was originally referred to as “Indian Territory“, but soon it became farm and ranch country.  The land rush began at noon with a cannon shot.  Between 50,000 and 60,000 settlers raced to stake their claim on tracks of land.  By nightfall most of them had found a tract.  Towns sprang up overnight.  By 1905, the last of the land was gone and Oklahoma became a state two years later.

April 23, 1778 - John Paul Jones burns Whitehaven, England.  This was the only American raid on Great Britain but it got the British Parliament’s attention.  The message was clear; those upstart colonies were not going to take British rule lying down.

April 25, 1865 - John Wilkes Booth, the Lincoln assassin, dies at Garrett’s farm after being shot.  In his final moments he looked at his hands and uttered the word “useless”.

April 27, 1805 - The Barbary Pirates had been raiding merchant vessels for some time and demanding ransom for their return.  All countries paid them off, that is until Thomas Jefferson became President. He declared war on the Barbary Pirates in 1801.  The war had dragged on for several more years.  The problem was a Tripolitan pasha, Yusuf Karamanli, who had overthrown his brother Hamet Karamanli.  Hamet sympathized with the United States.  U. S. Agent William Eaton led a group of United States Marines under command of Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon and Berber mercenaries against Yusuf Karamanli and restored Hamet Karamanli to power.  Lieutenant O’Bannon had fought so heroically that Hamet Karamanli presented him with a highly decorated sword.  That sword became the pattern for Marine Officer’s swords which is still used today.  The Marine Hymn, ”To the shores of Tripoli ...“came from this same battle.  The Barbary Pirates went into retirement at least as far as attacking United States ships.
 
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Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org

Saturday, April 24, 2021
Triple Threat Defense LLC Defensive Tactics for Concealed Carry – Level 1
The Well Armed Woman
Back to Basics Holster Drawing Concealed Carry

Sunday, April 25, 2021
Handgun Drills
Intro Carbine

Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Tuesday Night Irregular Rifle League

Wednesday, April 28, 2021
ISRA Benchrest League
Combat Paper & Steel League

Saturday, May 1, 2021
Range Work Day
New Shooter Highpower Rifle Competition Clinic

Sunday, May 2, 2021
ISRA Combat Pistol/3 Gun League
ISRA Black Powder League (Bonfield Muzzle Loaders)
Joe Brown Highpower League/Edward J Neumann Match
Paper & Steel Shotgun League

Gun & Trade Shows

Fairbanks Gun Show – Fairbanks, IN
Fairbanks Community Center
Dates: April 23 & 24, 2021
Hours: Friday: 12:00-7:00
             Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Admission: $5.00

National Civil War Show & Sale – Wheaton, IL
DuPage County Fairgrounds
Date: April 24, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00
Admission: $9.00

Belleville Gun Show – Belleville, IL
St Clair County Event Center
Dates: April 24 & 25, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-4:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $7.00




















































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