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ISRA Thursday Bulletin - October 17, 2019
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Executive Directors Message
The first Veto Session is scheduled for October 28th, 29th and 30th. Monday, October 28th, is the day to gather all legislators. The realization will start on Tuesday, October 29th. The mini IGOLD will be held on Tuesday, October 29th, 2019. We will begin in the Howlett Building Auditorium at
9:00am, give a legislative update and overview of our goals, and a briefing on lobbying the Legislators before heading to the Capitol to lobby. The Howlett Building is on the south end of the Capitol Complex. You will need to enter through the east entrance of the Howlett Building or the east entrance of the Capitol Building. The east entrance of the Capitol Building may be easier because they have more scanners. These are secured entrances so be prepared to go through a
security check. It would be a good idea to bring a Ziploc bag to put your keys, wallet, pens, and change in when you pass through security. This will make it easier on both you and the security guards in order to keep things moving. Please leave your pocket knife in your vehicle.
The one bill we will be looking at is SB 1966. This bill, if passed, would require the FOID card holder to be fingerprinted, pay for their own background check and firearm transfers through an FFL. This could cost the FOID card holder between $200 and $300, or even more, depending on what happens during your background check. The purpose of SB 1966 is to limit a person’s fundamental Second Amendment right by simply pricing people out of the market to acquire a FOID card, therefore pricing them out of their Second Amendment rights. There are those in the General Assembly that do not seem to understand that fundamental rights belong to us all. The purpose of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights is to inform legislators and public officials to keep their hands off of those rights. That is why the term “God given unalienable rights” is used. There are many in government at all levels that think their election or appointment to the office makes them God. Therein lies the problem. The ISRA and its partners, The Second Amendment Foundation and Illinois Carry, have filed for a petition of cert in the Culp vs. Raoul case. In other words, we are appealing Culp vs Raoul to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The Culp case is trying to strike down the rules that make it impossible for non-Illinois residents to get a Concealed Carry License in Illinois. Individual rights are not governed by zip codes, state lines, county lines, municipal boundaries or anything else. Culp vs. Raoul is trying to establish that through the courts. I am often mystified when people ask “Why should I join the Illinois State Rifle Association?” There are several answers. The ISRA has won the Outstanding State Association of the Year award six times from the National Rifle Association, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Affiliate Organization of the Year award eleven times, Gun Rights Defender of the Year two times, the Illinois Wildlife Association of the Year award two times and the Illinois Sporting Goods Association Extra Effort award two times. I know some of you are thinking, “so what.” The “so what” is that the ISRA doesn’t receive these awards for doing nothing; most of these awards are from National Organizations. That means out of the hundreds of gun rights groups out there, the ISRA keeps rising to the top. Look at the Illinois State Rifle Association right now. We have Culp vs. Raoul, Wilson vs. Cook County, Easterday vs. Deerfield, all of which we are, or will be, seeking appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States. The ISRA is the organization that sued over the Gun Dealer Licensing Certification Act. We also have the Vivian Brown case before the Illinois Supreme Court. We have White vs. Illinois State Police (ISP) in State Court, which addresses the problem of law-abiding citizens with FOID cards who cannot get an ICCL issued, and other cases coming all the time. We have 5 full time lobbyists in Springfield that are always working when the General Assembly is in session. We send out thousands of legislative alerts a year. We have grassroots chapters all over the state that hold monthly meetings and we sponsor more than four hundred education and competitive activities a year. Who makes all this possible? Our wonderful members, that’s who. Right now, we have slightly over 27,000 members. But to get the job done, we need 50,000 or more. If you are reading this and are not a member, please JOIN the ISRA today. The biggest battles are yet to come. Thanks for being a member. Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar For more information, visit www.isra.org Saturday, October 19, 2019 ISRA Annual Sighting-In-Day Sunday, October 20, 2019 Marksmanship League Awards Luncheon ISRA Marksmanship .22 Challenge Finals Liberal Gun Owners Club Tuesday, October 22, 2019 Tuesday Afternoon Highpower League Wednesday, October 23, 2019 Paper & Steel League Friday, October 25, 2019 Second Amendment Dinner (Pekin, IL) Saturday, October 26, 2019 The Well Armed Woman Sunday, October 27, 2019 Glock League ISRA Bullseye Match Illinois Gun & Trade Shows Springfield Gun & Knife Show Springfield, IL – Illinois State Fairgrounds Dates: October 19-20, 2019 Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00 Sunday: 9:00-3:00 Admission: $6.00 McHenry County Gun Show Woodstock, IL – McHenry County Fairgrounds Date: October 20, 2019 Hours: Sunday: 8:00-1:00 Admission: $5.00 Kankakee Gun Show Kankakee, IL – Kankakee County Fairgrounds Dates: October 26-27, 2019 Hours: Saturday: 8:00-4:00 Sunday: 8:00-2:00 Admission: $6.00 Sauk Trail Gun Show Princeton, IL – Bureau County Fairgrounds Dates: October 26-27, 2019 Hours: Saturday: 8:30-4:30 Sunday: 8:30-3:00 Admission: $2.00 Check out ISRA's website at www.isra.org! Tell us what you think! |