Letterhead
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ISRA Thursday Bulletin - August 8, 2019
Executive Directors Message
The shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio have caused screams for more gun control. I would like to point out that as the stories of these shooters unfold it is obvious that there were plenty of warning signs but people just want to stick their head in the sand and hope it all goes
away. Hope, as I often point out, is a poor strategy. There were plenty of people who knew about these miscreants and did nothing, but I have digressed.
Much of what is being proposed, Illinois already has and more. I would like to remind everyone that an Illinois Firearms Owner’s Identification card (FOID) holder goes through a background check every night. The exceptions are days when the courts are not open, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, and the 4th of July. If
you have an Illinois Concealed Carry License (ICCL), you go through two background checks every night. The crime rate is so low among FOID card holders that real numbers have to be used; if statistics were used in percentages of FOID card holders, the numbers to the right of the decimal point would be nearly impossible to read because they would be so small - something like .00000174%. That is not quite right, but you get the idea. In Illinois, those background checks include
mental health checks.
If you sell a firearm, both the buyer and the seller must have FOID cards. You will need to go to the Illinois State Police website and enter the buyer’s FOID card and get an approval number. Chicago and Cook County are case studies in how not to enforce existing gun laws. Chicago’s violence problems are caused by drug-fueled
gangs. I am not going to blame the Chicago police or other Cook County law enforcement organizations. When one of those police officers arrests a bad actor, they are literally out of jail before the cop can get the paperwork filled out. Some of these arrests should be a slam dunk but for some reason, they are not.
Here is an example: Earlier this year, a police officer raided a drug dealer’s place where they confiscated lots of drugs, guns, and piles of cash. The guy had been arrested several times before and was caught red-handed. There were probably twenty different felonies involved. The guy is a repeat offender. The next morning, the cop goes in to finish filling out his report and he meets the guy coming out of the police facility. There is your
problem.
In the meantime, crime goes on and the General Assembly passes more laws that affect you and me, who have never done anything wrong. Here is my word of advice to any legislator anywhere: The Latin Kings, the Disciples, MS13 and the like, don’t give a hoot what you pass. They don’t care. In fact, the restrictive gun laws you
legislators pass, only disarm the law-abiding citizens and make the bad guys’ job easier and safer.
I would like to mention that the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) National Championships were held last month in Marengo, Ohio. There were over 3000 registered shooters. Over 2 million clay targets, 12 semi-trailer loads, were thrown at this
competition. ISRA member, Grace Marlen, 16 years old, was the first lady shooter to ever win the Browning Scholarship and the first lady shooter to ever win HOA for American Trap in SCTP history. Grace shot a 200/200 on 16-yard American Trap to win the Ladies division. Grace was then in a shoot-off with the two men’s division leaders who both had 200/200 also. Grace defeated both of the male shooters with a 75/75, in front of a huge crowd. Grace ended up with
two 1st place medals, one 2nd place medal, and one 3rd place medal at this year’s SCTP nationals.
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Grace competed in Sporting Clays, American Skeet, Doubles Skeet, Bunker (International) Trap, American Trap, Doubles Trap, and Handicap Trap at this year’s nationals. Well done!
These programs really do give kids the chance to develop the skills needed in life to succeed by requiring them to use discipline, focus, camaraderie, working as a team, learning to deal with pressure (as in the desire to win competitions), all while having fun with friends.
August is National Shooting Sports Month so take someone shooting. In Sparta, Illinois, the Grand Nationals Shotgun Championships (trap shooting) are in full swing. They will fire about 3,000,000 rounds there and only clay pigeons get hit.
The National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, saw the ISRA Six Man Team take second place, being edged out by Texas. The margin was two points. In the National Infantry Match, the ISRA took ninth place. Remember, we are competing against military teams who have a lot of advantages. This week, the matches moved from Camp Perry, Ohio, to Camp
Atterbury in Indiana.
The ISRA had Regional Members Meetings in Harrisburg, Illinois and Sparta Illinois, earlier this week. On Saturday and Sunday, Bill Potts and I will be giving litigation and legislative updates at the Bloomington Gun Show. The sessions will be at 10:00am and 1:30pm on Saturday, and at 10:00am on Sunday morning. If you are in the area, please
stop by.
Thanks for being a member.
If you are not a member, JOIN
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Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
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For more information, visit www.isra.org
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Saturday & Sunday, August 10 & 11, 2019
Project Appleseed
Monday, August 12, 2019
Military Benchrest League
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Tuesday Night Irregular Rifle League
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Benchrest League
F-Class Rifle League
Paper & Steel League
Thursday, August 15, 2019
ISRA Smallbore Rifle League
Smallbore F-Class Rifle League
Saturday, August 17, 2019
ISRA Marksmanship League
Sunday, August 18, 2019
ISRA Bullseye Match & Combat League
Handgun Training
Springfield Match
Saturday & Sunday, August 24 & 25, 2019
MTG Advanced Tactical Pistol Course
Illinois Gun & Trade Shows
Bloomington Gun & Knife Show
ISRA will be presenting legislative updates
Bloomington, IL – Interstate Center
Dates: August 10-11, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00
Belleville Gun & Knife Show
Belleville, IL – Belle-Clair Expo Center
Dates: August 24-25, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00
Lake County Gun & Sportsman Show
Antioch, IL – Antioch VFW
Date: August 25, 2019
Hours: Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $7.00
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