Chairman’s Comments

Conservative author and speaker, Ann Coulter, is just the latest victim of the hateful leftists in this country. Ann was going to give a speech at Berkley, supposedly the ‘birthplace and home of free speech’ in this country. With threatened riots (not just protests) and the Mayor saying he could not guarantee her safety, she finally had to cancel at the last moment. It was later discovered that the Mayor is associated with extreme hate groups. If he wanted her to speak, he could have gotten enough police to ensure order. This is in addition to the forty-two times that a conservative speaker had to cancel their scheduled speech in 2016. Guess how many times a liberal speaker had to be cancelled for security reasons…..NONE!!!
In Portland Oregon, protesters shattered business windows, set bonfires in the streets and vandalized a police car on Monday, May Day, afternoon as a May Day protest devolved into a short-lived but chaotic riot. It began as a city-permitted march, but ultimately black-clad leftists Fascists protesters wearing masks, started fires and doing major property damage. Police declared it a riot. Officers used flash-bang grenades to disperse the crowd arresting 25 people. Windows were broken in many buildings including Target and Brooks Brothers.  I hope President Trump will make sure that the Justice Department will ensure these rioters get federal charges and finally get these riots stopped. This anarchy is in large part funded by Self-professed Nazi war criminal George Soros. He continues to go free while radicalizing American politics and society. There is a strategy to take him down by first openly identifying the over 200 organizations he owns and funds. They are created to sabotage the United States.       Meanwhile here in Chicago, more than 1,000 people have been shot so far this year, and the city has had nearly 200 murders, but Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said he saw some good news in April’s crime statistics. Shootings were down 13 percent for the first four months of the year, compared to the same time in 2016. While shootings were down, murders in April were up 80%. So the shooters are getting better at aiming. I guess that what he is happy about.
Despite predictions earlier, firearm sales are moving up once again.  The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows March numbers 10% higher than January and 9% higher than February of this year.
Obama stopped the transfer of US military guns back to the USA while president. He wanted them all destroyed.  But now, thanks to Trump, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) will be getting 86,000 M1 Garands from overseas sometime this year. There are many collectors and shooters who will be thrilled to have one of these historic firearms. To buy one of these or any other firearm from the Civilian Marksmanship Program, you need to be a member of a club or organization that is affiliated with the CMP.  The Illinois State Rifle Association is an affiliate.
Last week, Iowa gun rights got a bonanza when Iowa House File 517 was signed into law.  Among the provisions of HF517 are: stand your ground, immunity from civil liability if you have to shoot an aggressor to stop them, state wide preemption, the ability to carry in the Iowa Capitol building, and granting a citizen the ability to sue those who establish “gun free zones” if those citizens believe their civil rights have been violated.  Very nice.
 
Many of you know that SB1657 – a terrible bill to curtail retail firearm sales passed the senate and now moves on to the Illinois House for concurrence.  If SB1657 is passed into law:
1. Hundreds of shooting sports entrepreneurs will be forced out of business. Among them are gun shops, ranges and gunsmiths.
2.  Increased dealer overhead costs linked to the cost of compliance with the bill will raise the retail price of new guns by up to $300 or more.  Essentially, this bill places a tax on your Constitutional rights.
3.  It will be illegal for you to sell your gun collection of more than 9 guns without getting a state license.
4. Anyone who purchases a firearm will be subjected to warrantless electronic surveillance by the authorities.  Additionally, personal information of all gun buyers will be gathered and electronically indexed by state agencies.
The primary sponsor of SB1657 is Senator Don Harmon.  Harmon is a left-wing, radical anti-constitutionalist whose district is in Oak Park. He takes his instructions – and quite a bit of money – from former NYC mayor, Michael Bloomberg.  Bloomberg has assigned Harmon with the task of dismantling private firearm ownership in Illinois.  The Bloomberg/Harmon team will succeed in stripping you of your rights if you do not stand up and take action.
Bartenders at a West Village hot spot in Boston served up discrimination — with a liberal twist — refusing to serve a customer because he was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, according to a lawsuit.  An accountant from Philadelphia was kicked out by workers at The Happiest Hour on West 10th Street over his conservative fashion statement.  “Anyone who supports Trump — or believes what you believe — is not welcome here! And you need to leave right now because we won’t serve you!”
Five-year-old Caitlin Miller and several of her classmates were playing make-believe last week on the playground at McLauchlin Elementary School in North Carolina. One of her friends was pretending to be a queen and another was pretending to be a princess. Caitlin was their protector. And in order to protect the Royals, she armed herself with a stick that resembled a gun. Within minutes, the five-year-old was snatched up by a teacher and sent to the principal’s office, promptly suspended and accused of a heinous offense of, “turning a stick into a gun and threatening to shoot and kill other students.” “The assistant principal said Caitlin had a stick and she was using it to shoot and kill other students,” she said. Mrs. Miller said the entire incident has been blown way out of context. Mrs. Miller said she had to sit down with her daughter and explain why her make-believe fun was against school policy. “It was gut-wrenching for me. She’s innocent. She’s young. She should be five and have fun.”
With leftists increasingly turning to violence to try to get their way, and with the likes of Soros and Bloomberg using their enormous sums of money to try to eliminate guns and our civil rights, it is becoming more important than ever to do all we can to protect our rights. If Clinton had gotten to be president we would be even worse off and in a little over three years, in all likelihood, there will be another extreme anti-gun (anti-rights) person running against Trump; and, if they win, all we gained will be gone in a heartbeat. So now for the immediate concern of SB1657, call your representative and politely, but strongly, express your support of gun rights and your opposition to this terrible bill. For the long run, support those legislators who support your rights, both financially and in any other way you are able. Your future rights depend upon it. The antis are dramatically upping the ante with literally millions of dollars and they’re getting better organized.
 
Doug Mayhall
 
 
*** All opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ISRA, Will County Grassroots, or any of it’s members or officers.***
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