A few years ago, I penned an article entitled “The Gathering Storm,” which envisioned intensive attacks on the Second Amendment and our gun rights in Illinois. Those predictions have now come to fruition. I failed to remind everyone that storms are a repeating phenomenon and so are pushes for gun control. We are in the middle of one of those storms right now. Many gun owners seem to think that when a push for gun control is over, there will never be another one. They then let their membership lapse, stop donating and stop volunteering. Pushes for gun control on law abiding citizens are like storms. There may be a lull but there is another one coming. After a tornado passes, no one tears down their storm shelter. Organizations like the ISRA are your gun control “storm shelter”. Please join and continue to be a member. The victory will never be quite won and the battle will never be over.
Right now anti-gun organizations are experiencing high influxes of cash and other outside support. Never in history have they had so much money. The other outside support includes professional writers, advertising agencies, and organizers. Never under estimate these people.
SB1657 may just be the tip of the iceberg. I expect every bad idea the anti-gunners have ever had, to be put forth very soon. In the meantime, keep up the calls to your legislators. Keep their contact information at hand. There are “only” 20 days left in the Spring Legislative Session. In Springfield, minutes seem like an eternity with the last few days of any legislative session. I am also hearing rumors of summer sessions. Isn’t that just swell?
SB1657 is scheduled for Judiciary Criminal Committee Hearing on Tuesday, May 16
th at 11:00am. Be sure to fill out
witness slips.
Citizens are never safe. We are all still recovering from the last elections, but in August, people can take out petitions for the 2018 election. They have to be back roughly by the third week in December. The dates are not set yet. Ugh, here we go again.
A hundred years ago, the United States was in turmoil. On April 6, 1917, the unprepared United States had declared war on Germany after the revelation of the “
Zimmermann Telegram” and the sinking of three American merchant ships by German U-boats. The “Zimmermann Telegram” was an offer to Mexico to become allies with Germany. Mexico would attack the United States with the goal of re-conquering Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The United States would be forced to fight a two-front war, one of which would be a direct attack on the homeland.
There were training camps being built all over the country, recruits were drilling with wooden sticks because there weren’t enough guns; we had no tanks, no helmets, and most of our artillery belonged in a museum. We had a great rifle, the 1903 Springfield, but very few of them. We all hear about the great marksmen, such as Sergeant York. Most of the good marksmen were farm boys, but many of the city boys couldn’t hit a subway car at 20 feet. There were a million problems to solve, but the United States set about solving them with vigor. By the end of May 1917, General “Black Jack” Pershing set sail with 14,000 troops bound for France. There were more than troops on those ships. The United States’ destiny to become a world power was also aboard. The Illinois State Rifle Association was there also. The ISRA was training civilians in marksmanship before they reported for duty and continued to support marksmanship programs in the Illinois National Guard and regular Army. As an ISRA member, you are part of a proud heritage.
Thanks for being a member.
Please remember: when you click on a particular bill, it will take you directly to the State of Illinois General Assembly website (ilga.gov).
The ISRA has no control over the ilga.gov website.
