Richard Pearson

On Tuesday, April 13^th, with only a few weeks left in the Spring Session, the Illinois General Assembly returned to Springfield to face a mountain of bills and resolutions. The Illinois House of Representatives has 671 bills on the floor and the Illinois Senate has 234.  That totals 905 bills that first must be dealt with in the originating chamber and if passed, sent to the opposite chamber.  We are talking about Second and Third Readings, being returned to committee for amendments and back on the floor again and votes taken.  Thousands of hours of work are required to do all of this and it won’t all get done.  I would not be surprised to see Special Sessions this summer.

This week I will turn the spotlight on HB2769, the Micro Stamping Bill.  This bill is sponsored by Representative Denyse Stoneback (D-16 Skokie).  We are opposed to this bill.  Below are the talking points on the bill.  Thanks to John Weber and the NRA for these talking points.

OPPOSE HOUSE AMENDMENT #1 TO HB 2769 (STONEBACK)
CREATES NEW GRANT PROGRAM AND FELONY CHARGE FOR UNPROVEN AND COST-PROHIBITIVE TECHNOLOGY FORCING LAW ENFORCEMENT TO SPEND MONEY TO BENEFIT A SINGLE PRIVATE COMPANY

House Amendment #1 to HB 2769 (Stoneback) creates a new $500,000 grant program to advance an unproven, and costly sole source technology, and initial independent testing has shown such technology is unreliable and ineffective.
 

Unproven Technology

Since 2008, at least three different studies have found “microstamping” to be unproven and unreliable:
 

• In 2008, the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences released a report stating the technology cannot be relied upon, stating “…more in-depth studies are needed on the durability of microstamped marks under various firing conditions and their susceptibility to tampering, as well as on their cost impact for manufacturers and consumers.”¹
• The report was further confirmed by a study conducted by the University of California, Davis, stating the technology “…did not work equally well for all guns and ammunition tested…” and “…[o]ur study confirms the NRC position that more research should be conducted.”²
• In 2012, a study conducted by Iowa State University noted “legitimate questions exist related to the technical aspects, production costs and database management associated with microstamping that should be addressed before wide scale implementation is legislatively mandated” and “…it clearly is not a panacea for the difficulties associated with traditional examinations. For example, the criminal can always remove firing pins, alter scratch patterns by the use of abrasive polishing media, etc.”³

 

Additional Concerns: Higher Costs, Sole-Source Technology, False Positives, and New Felony

Additional concerns with requiring “microstamping” on firearms includes:
 

• Estimates from manufacturers and national organizations indicate the cost of microstamping – both equipment and use of proprietary, sole-source technology – will add up to $150 in costs per firearm; adding hundreds of thousands in costs on firearm manufacturers.
• Provides a significant financial windfall to NanoMark – the one company that owns the microstamping technology – by forcing firearm manufacturers and law enforcement agencies to use its unproven and unreliable product.
• Fails to consider unscrupulous individuals could collect discarded brass from a firing range and salt crime scenes with microstamped cases, thereby providing false evidence against innocent people and increasing the workload for investigators.
• Does not recognize firing a large number of rounds will wear down the microstamp over time.
• Imposes Class 2 felony applies to all persons (including law enforcement) – even in the event they need to repair or replace the microstamping mechanism due to wear and tear from normal use.

 

Law Enforcement Exempt in California

California law currently exempts firearm purchases by law enforcement due to the significant liability risk that such a requirement would impose on law enforcement officials.

HB 2769 attempts to mandate an unproven technology – that will benefit one private company – that has failed to perform under independent scrutiny, is cost-prohibitive to implement, can easily be manipulated or removed by criminals, and imposes a new felony that can be improperly imposed on law abiding citizens.

VOTE NO ON HB 2769
 

OPPONENTS INCLUDE

Springfield Armory
Illinois State Rifle Association
Federal Firearm Licensees of Illinois
National Rifle Association


¹ https://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12162
² https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/firearms-microstamping-feasible-variable-study-finds/
³ https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=cnde_pubs

The ISRA just completed our first Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Registered Air Rifle Match at the ISRA Range in Bonfield.  This match concludes our indoor air rifle and air pistol season which was the most successful we have ever had.  I want to thank all the people that helped run the match and the Air Gun League this season.  I expect air gun shooting to increase in the coming years due to the cost and shortage of ammunition.   The air gun range will reopen in late October 2021.

We are in the waiting mode regarding the ISRA court cases.  They are still creeping through the court system at the speed of a sloth.  In the meantime, there have been a couple of preemption cases in other states that are worth looking at.  Those states include Washington State and Florida.  Preemption means that certain things are reserved for the Federal and State Governments and lesser governments and to keep their nose out of them.  For example, the Federal Government only can print money.  State governments issue driver’s licenses.  States pass preemption laws reserving jurisdiction in certain matters.  Typically, one of those is in the area of firearms.  Members of city, town and village councils are prone to be populated by people who believe they are God’s gift to us all and therefore can do what they want.  Such was the case in Weston, Florida.  The State of Florida has a preemption law regarding the regulation of firearms.  The City Council violated the preemption law by putting more restrictions on firearms and their owners that the state allowed.  Why not, all levels of government have immunity for their legislative and other efforts?  The Florida Court not only overturned the local ordinances, but stripped the immunity away from those city officials who knowingly violated Florida’s preemption laws.  The Court said, “Legislative does not shield individuals who knowingly and willfully act contrary to or beyond the limits of state law.”   In other words, those who were harmed by an illegal ordinance can directly sue those who passed the ordinance.  Those sued have to pay the bills out of their own pockets.  Nice.

For those ISRA members who have not ordered your 2021 IGOLD pin yet, there is still time to do so.  Please call the office at 815.635.3198 to purchase your IGOLD pin and tickets.  Proceeds go to our legislative efforts.  Thank you in advance.

Tidbits:
April is a month with hundreds of interesting stories.  I can’t scratch the surface but here it goes.

April 15, 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln dies from a gunshot wound inflicted by southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth.  When Lincoln died so did his plans for rebuilding the south.  Northern radicals took over scarring the country permanently with their policies.

April 15, 1912 - The Titanic sinks, killing 1500 passengers and crew.  The Titanic struck an iceberg just before midnight.   Thinking the ship was unsinkable, the Captain hesitated and did not send out a distress call.  The ocean liner Californian was less than 20 miles away.  Both ships were equipped with the latest radio equipment but the radio operator on the Californian went off duty at midnight.  At 2:20am the Titanic sank.  After this disaster, ships were required to man radios 24 hours a day.

April 6, 1881 - Western lawman Bat Masterson fights his last gun fight.  Masterson had been wounded several times over the years and was wounded in this gun fight.   Masterson was fined $8 and took the next train out of Dodge City.  He became a sports writer in New York City.  He died at his desk 40 years later.  Bat Masterson was from Watseka, Illinois.

April 17, 1964 - The Ford Mustang makes an appearance at the World’s Fair in New York.  The Mustang was such a hit they sold 22,000 in the next few days.  In the next year, 400,000 more Mustangs were sold.  The price was $2300.  By 1966, only two years later, Ford sold its one millionth Mustang.  In 2004, Ford produced its 300 millionth car.  It was a Mustang GT.

April 18, 1775 - Paul Revere and William Dawes warn colonists that British Regulars were coming to capture stores of arms and ammunition in Concord and Lexington.  They roused hundreds of militiamen.

April 19, 1775 - At 5:00am, 700 British troops approach Concord.  They were met by 77 militiamen.  The Americans started to fall back and someone fired a shot, no one knows who.  This became known as the “shot heard around the world” because it signaled the first colony to win independence from Great Britain.  The British went on to Lexington.  The brief battles left 8 or 9 Americans dead and only one British soldier.  On the way back to Boston, militiamen lined the road, picking off the British troops one by one.  By the time the British got back to Boston, they had 300 troops killed or wounded.

April 20, 1841 - The first detective story is published by Edgar Allan Poe.  The title was “Murders in the Rue Morgue”.

April 20, 1898 - President William McKinley asks for a declaration of war against Spain.  On February 17, the Battleship Maine had been sunk in Havana Harbor.  The Spanish were blamed.  It is believed that a spontaneous spark caused the explosion but that wasn’t known at the time.  In the Spanish American War, the United States acquired the Philippines and several other possessions that would become critical years later in WWII and even now.

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Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org

Saturday, April 17, 2021
Project Appleseed
Hard Dog Junior Team at the Range

Sunday, April 18, 2021
Project Appleseed
Marksmanship League
ISRA Bullseye Match
Joe Brown Highpower League/Joe Brown Match

Tuesday, April 20 & 27, 2021
Tuesday Night Irregular Rifle League

Wednesday, April 21 & 28, 2021
ISRA Benchrest League

Wednesday, April 21 & 28, 2021
Combat Paper & Steel League

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

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

Gun & Knife Show – Chillicothe, IL
Chillicothe Sportsman Club
Dates: April 10 & 11, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-4:30
             Sunday: 8:30-3:30
Admission: $2.00

Crown Point Gun Show – Crown Point, IN
Lake County Fairground
Dates: April 10 & 11, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

Will County Gun Show – Peotone, IL
Will County Fairgrounds
Dates: April 17 & 18, 2021
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-3:00
             Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00

McHenry County Gun Show – Woodstock, IL
McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: April 18, 2021
Hours: Sunday: 8:00-1:00
Admission: $5.00

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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