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Illinois General Assembly Playing Political Chicken Over CCW

May 29, 2013 by 7 Comments

The Illinois General Assembly is playing a game of political chicken over concealed carry with only nine days to go before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals stay on their ruling ends. On one side you have the Illinois State House of Representatives which has passed a shall-issue concealed carry law with limitations but that does mandate state preemption on firearms laws. On the other side you have Gov. Pat Quinn (D-IL), State Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D-IL), Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), and others of their gun prohibitionist ilk who want to preserve home rule at all costs even if it means not meeting the Court of Appeals deadline to craft a concealed carry law that was consistent with the court’s ruling.

This past Friday the Illinois House of Representatives passed an amended bill by a vote of 85 to 30. It had the support of House Speaker Michael Madigan as well as the pro-gun forces led by Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg). That bill was a compromise. While it provided shall-issue concealed carry and preempted all local firearms laws in Illinois, it also mandated 16 hours of training, a $150 fee, and did not provide for any sort of reciprocity with other states and their CCW licenses. The House had previously failed to pass both a really good shall-issue carry bill sponsored by Rep. Brandon Phelps as well as a draconian may-issue bill sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago). Gov. Quinn and State Senate President Cullerton started attacking this bill the moment it was passed.

After the Memorial Day Weekend, the Senate Executive Committee (equivalent to a Rules Committee in other legislative bodies) took up the bill that passed the State House as well as one by Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago). It should be noted that the Executive Committee Democrats are reportedly, for the most part, Cullerton loyalists. Given that, it is not surprising that they refused to let the House bill out of committee and sent forth the draconian concealed carry bill.

Senate Democrats Tuesday blocked legislation backed by House Speaker Michael Madigan to permit Illinois gun owners to carry their weapons in public areas and gut local gun laws, opting instead for a stricter measure favored by gun-control advocates.

The votes by the Senate Executive Committee further muddied the prospects of the House and Senate agreeing on a single plan to meet a court-imposed June 9th deadline to pass concealed-carry legislation and end Illinois’ last-in-the-nation status barring gun owners from carrying their weapons with them.

Opposed by Gov. Pat Quinn, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the speaker’s concealed-carry bill that would undo more than 100 communities’ gun-control laws died in the Senate committee on a 6-8 vote.

An alternative carried by Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) that would spare those local gun ordinances advanced on a 10-4 vote, with one member voting present.

Senate President Cullerton’s aim is to preserve home rule on firearms laws. His strategy seems to be to use the Raoul bill as his bargaining chip. In other words, he’ll be willing to trade off the worst parts of the Raoul bill in exchange for the ability of Chicago and its suburbs to still have their local gun control laws. As he said in the Chicago Tribune’s Clout Street:

With Friday’s adjournment deadline getting closer, Cullerton suggested a
compromise bill could take shape through further negotiations. “If we
get over this super pre-emption that wipes out all these ordinances, we
then have a concealed carry bill,” Cullerton said.

Other commentators such as Eric Zorn of Chicago Tribune and Rich Miller of the Capital Facts column have both noted that Cullerton is quite willing to have concealed carry laws determined by each and every one of the 208 local home-rule units in Illinois.

From Miller’s Capital Facts column:

“In the case of concealed carry, some say we have to pass a bill,” Cullerton told Chicago reporters.

“The fact of the matter is, if we don’t pass a bill in Springfield, the city of Chicago, county of Cook, 208 home rule units can pass their own legislation.

“So, while we should pass a sensible bill to regulate it statewide, if we don’t it’s not the end of the world.”

It was the clearest statement yet from Cullerton that not passing a concealed carry bill might be the best way to go.

As you already know, a federal appellate court has given Illinois until June 9 to pass a new public carry law. If not, all of Illinois’ current carry laws will be struck down as unconstitutional on that date.

At first, liberals were being stampeded into passing new legislation. But Chicago’s mayor and his legislative allies have lately made it quietly known that not passing a bill might not be so bad. Chicago could pass a much stricter proposal than anything that could ever receive the General Assembly’s imprimatur, for instance.

Zorn warns of the chaos that would ensue if the General Assembly fails to pass a concealed carry law and it falls to the 208 local home-rule units to pass their own laws on the issue.

Imagine officials of more than 200 local home-rule units of government in Illinois — trustees, aldermen, councilors, commissioners, most of them part-timers — suddenly and urgently attempting to craft and pass a new ordinance to allow their constituents to carry concealed weapons in public.

Who is entitled to a permit? What training will it take to get a permit and who will provide and authorize it? Will permit-holders be able to carry their weapons on buses and trains? In taverns? In parks? In hospitals?

And so on. More than 200 political brush fires on one of our most divisive, contentious public policy issues breaking out all over the state nearly all at once. To be followed, inevitably, by nearly as many lawsuits filed by those who feel that the new laws continue to violate the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms.

Is that what we want? Because that’s what many observers think we’re going to get if the bickering Illinois General Assembly fails to agree on a concealed carry law by the June 9 deadline imposed late last year by a federal court.

Zorn warns the gun control forces that they may not like the result given the “notable and persistent enthusiasm gap” between gun rights supporters and gun control advocates.

So the passage of a concealed carry law comes down to this: a game of political chicken being played out amongst the Chicago power brokers. Madigan, Cullerton, Quinn, Emanuel, and Madigan’s daughter Lisa the AG are all Chicago politicians. It will come down to who is the most powerful. My bet right now is on Mike Madigan as he has served longer as Speaker than anyone, he is chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, and he is a ward committeeman in Chicago. None of the others can match that. In the meantime, the good people of Illinois remain at the mercy of the thugs.

UPDATE: WGN-TV out of Chicago had this on the concealed carry bill negotiations this evening:

A lot of what happened today happened behind closed doors in the office of House Speaker Mike Madigan in an effort to reach a compromise on concealed carry legislation.

Lawmakers want that done. They’re facing a court-imposed June 9th deadline. They’re close on that, and nearing a deal on expanding gambling.

In negotiations like this, it is always going to be the weaker party that makes the trek to the stronger party’s office.

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Illinois House Passes Concealed Carry 85-30

May 24, 2013 by 3 Comments

The Illinois State House of Representatives passed the compromise concealed carry bill today by a vote of 85 yea, 30 nays, and 1 present. SB 2193 now goes back to the State Senate for their concurrence.

MyStateline.com reports that Gov. Pat Quinn (D-IL) is opposed to the bill and will work to defeat it. The sticking point for Quinn is state preemption of all firearm laws which negates home-rule for places like Chicago and Cook County.

The margin in the House would override a Governor’s veto, but Governor
Quinn pledged in a statement to do whatever he could to defeat it,
calling it “a massive overreach on the concealed carry issue that would
automatically repeal local public safety ordinances including Chicago’s
assault weapons ban. … The principle of home rule is an important one.
As written, this legislation is a massive overreach that would repeal
critical gun safety ordinances in Chicago, Cook County, and across
Illinois.”

Examining the 30 nay votes on SB 2193 finds that they are all Democrats and, with one exception, are all from Chicago, Cook County, or an adjoining county. The one exception was Rep. Charles Jefferson (D-Rockford).

The roll call of the votes is found here.

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A Round-Up On The Compromise CCW Bill In Illinois

May 24, 2013 by 8 Comments

Facing a June 9th deadline, it looks like the Illinois State House might be able to pass a compromise bill. They have already shot down Rep. Brandon Phelps’ (D-Harrisburg) shall-issue bill as well as a may-issue bill. The compromise bill is just that – it doesn’t really satisfy either side but it may be the best one can get given the bifurcated nature of Illinois politics.

The Illinois State Rifle Association released the following alert this afternoon. It is important to note that they are neutral on the bill.


CCW BILL ALERT – SB 2193 – VIABLE PROPOSAL ON THE TABLE

After many years of working to advance a Right to Carry bill, there is a viable proposal on the table. This bill, SB 2193, sponsored by Representative Brandon Phelps, is not a perfect bill but it does have several good points, for example:


  • Shall issue

  • Statewide pre-emption of all gun laws

  • Commercially available training

  • Vehicles will be a safe haven

However, the bill does call for:


  • 16 hours of training, although some previous training will count toward those hours

  • $150.00 license fee, for five years

  • Carry on mass transportation prohibited

This bill, if passed, will bring Right to Carry to Illinois, but due to the restrictions in the bill we are neutral on the bill.

While many people have been involved in this effort, Representative Brandon Phelps has demonstrated superior leadership and should be commended for his resolve.

The actual bill is being offered as an amendment to SB 2193. The language of the amendment can be found here.

According to the Rockford Register Star, the National Rifle Association has not taken a position on the bill.

“It’s a combination, a balance of both sides,” Phelps said, adding that he believes pro-gun groups such as the National Rifle Association have not taken a position on the bill. The NRA endorsed previous versions sponsored by Phelps.


Todd Vandermyde, chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association in Illinois, declined to comment Wednesday and deferred all questions to the organization’s national headquarters. NRA officials could not be reached for comment.

 The biggest plus of the bill is that it does away with home-rule by Chicago and Cook County on firearms laws. This would mean that items like the Chicago’s rules for issuance of firearms license would be gone as would Cook County AWB. This post from Illinois gun rights group GunsSaveLife.com does a good job in pointing the full impact of getting rid of home-rule on firearms laws. They contend that by agreeing to this House Speaker Michael Madigan has thrown Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle under the bus.

Thirdpower who is an Illinois resident finds it to be a particularly unappetizing sandwich.

Miguel at GunFreeZone gives his opinion here. He believes we’re getting shafted by the bill.

Sebastian thinks it might be the best we can get right now.

My feeling is that it’s a shall-issue bill, with preemption. It’s the
final offer from the leadership. I’d take the deal and then work to
improve the bill through legislation, and I’d re-litigate over the steep
fees and argue that many of the places you’re prohibited from carrying
are not “sensitive places” per the Heller decision.

The Rockford Register Star article details the prohibited places referred to by Sebastian.

Weapons would be prohibited from special events open to the public, schools, amusement parks, zoos and museums, libraries, property owned by park districts, playgrounds, universities and colleges, state and federal buildings, sporting events, residential mental health facilities, and police stations. Guns would be barred from parking lots under ownership of these places.


If riding public transit, an individual’s gun would have to be unloaded and stored away in a backpack or other carry-on bag.

One other thing about the bill – it has no provision for reciprocity with other states. The argument given by Rep. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) is that other states’ mental health reporting laws are weaker than that of Illinois. If you want to carry in Illinois and you aren’t a resident, it will cost you $300 plus you have to meet their training requirements.

If the pro-gun proponents of this bill are correct, future changes to the firearms laws will only take a simple majority instead of a 3/5’s majority since home rule provisions will be eliminated. If correct, I think you might see more changes in the Illinois gun laws in the future. There has been a majority to liberalize the state’s gun laws but not a super-majority.

Regardless of what happens in the State House, the bill will still have to pass the State Senate.

UPDATE: Please see the comment below from David Lawson. He and his wife Colleen were co-plaintiffs along with Otis McDonald in the ground-breaking Second Amendment case of McDonald v. Chicago. The Lawsons have been at the forefront of the fight for gun rights in the state of Illinois for many years. His perspective on these issues is important and should be given heed.

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Mag Ban On The Move In Illinois

May 21, 2013 by 2 Comments

Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) is now pushing SB 1002 which would ban magazines over 10 round capacity. A “special” feature of this bill are large fines and prison time for possession of standard capacity magazines for AR-15s and other modern sporting rifles.

The ISRA Alert on this bill is below. Please notice their warning in the last paragraph. It seems Sen. Kotowski has no problem using the Illinois State Police as his private storm troopers to stifle dissent.

URGENT ALERT – YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

MAGAZINE BAN ON THE MOVE IN THE ILLINOIS SENATE


Anti-gun extremist State Senator Dan Kotowski has introduced a ban on all magazines having a capacity exceeding 10 rounds. The bill (SB1002) banning magazines also requires large fines and prison sentences if you are caught with magazines for AR-15 and other modern sporting rifles.


SB1002 IS A BOLD AND BRAZEN ATTACK ON THE 2ND AMENDMENT:


1. SB1002 will have no effect on the criminal use of firearms yet will infringe on the right of law-abiding citizen’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms.


2. SB1002 is a backdoor way to limit your ability to defend yourself and family under the upcoming Illinois concealed carry law.


3. SB1002 is the first step towards the banning of semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns.


BLOOMBERG AND THE GUN GRABBERS WILL PUSH HARD TO GET SB1002 PASSED


Magazine bans are on the top of gun controllers’ wish list this year. They want to see Illinois join with the likes of New York, Maryland, California, and now Colorado in the destruction of the 2nd Amendment.


ONLY YOU HAVE THE POWER TO STOP SB1002. ACT NOW OR LOSE ANOTHER CHUNK OF YOUR GUN RIGHTS!


Here is what you need to do to stop SB1002:


1. Call your State Senator and politely tell the person who answers the phone that you are a law-abiding Illinois firearm owner and that you oppose SB1002 and you expect the Senator to vote against the bill when it comes to the floor. If you do not know who your State Senator is, the Illinois State Board of Elections has an interactive search page here:
www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx


If you already know who your State Senator is and just need the contact info, you can find that here: www.ilga.gov/senate/.


2. When you call your Senator’s office, you may hear all kinds of nonsense about how SB1002 will not affect law-abiding gun owners. Politely tell the person that you are not interested in hearing that, you are only interested in seeing SB1002 defeated.


3. Pass this alert on to your friends and family and tell them to make calls as well.


4. Post this alert to any and all Internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you may belong.


5. Help keep ISRA on the frontlines of this fight for your rights, go the extra mile and recruit a new ISRA member. Sign them up over the phone at 815-635-3198, or browse to isra.org/join .


SPECIAL NOTICE: DO NOT call Senator Kotowski unless he is your Senator, and even then be very careful. Kotowski has a track record of having the State Police investigate and harass people that disagree with him.

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Chicago Hit Job On World Shooting And Recreational Center

May 14, 2013 by 6 Comments

You shoot trap or skeet. You live in the ‘burbs. You aspire to a Perazzi or Krieghoff custom shotgun to go with your Beemer. You don’t particularly care for the NRA as all they care about is protecting those mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals and their evil black rifles. Besides, Mayor Bloomberg and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have always said they are only after the illegal guns and that they respect American sporting traditions like trap and skeet.

Sorry to intrude on your dream world but you might want to think again.

Fox 32 News out of Chicago has just done a nice hit piece on the home of the Grand American – the World Shooting and Recreational Center in Sparta, Illinois. They are saying it is an expensive boondoggle that has cost and continues to cost Illinois taxpayers millions of dollars.

Chances are you’ve never heard of the World Shooting and Recreational
Complex; which is too bad, because you almost certainly paid for it. In
fact, Illinois taxpayers kicked in tens of millions of dollars for the
downstate tourist attraction. The problem is, it isn’t attracting a lot
of tourists and it continues to lose money.

And who is leading the charge to get rid of it? None other than Illinois State Senator Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) who is one of the leading gun prohibitionists in the Illinois General Assembly.

“The state must live within its means. Fund what works. Get rid of what
doesn’t,” Kotowski says. “Should we be in the business of making sure
that we have sport shooting competitions, shooting competitions should
the state government be in that business whether it makes people feel
good or not? I think we should be in the business of educating our
children.”

Unfortunately, the World Shooting and Recreational Center is also being targeted by the free-market leaning Illinois Policy Institute. They have consistently called for the state’s spending on it to be cut. They call it a “giant white elephant” in the Fox 32 report which can be seen below.

It should be pointed out that the World Shooting and Recreational Center hosts more than the Grand American and skeet and trap shooting competitions. There are regular SASS, IDPA, and USPSA pistol competitions held there. You can also shoot trap, skeet, and sporting clays most days of the week when competitions are not being held.

Would the World Shooting and Recreational Center be better served by being in private hands? Maybe. That said, the attack on it now by Dan Kotowski and others is a backdoor attack on shooting in general. If they can limit places to shoot, they will make it harder to exercise our Second Amendment rights.

Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

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ISRA – The Heat Will Be On This Week

May 13, 2013 by

The Illinois State Rifle Association issued an alert this afternoon regarding moves by the gun prohibitionists in the Illinois General Assembly. They feel the anti’s will make some moves this week and they are asking Illinois residents to contact their state senators and representatives.

As June 9th grows nearer, a lot of attention will be focused on the General Assembly’s efforts to comply with the court order to enact concealed carry. As important as passing shall-issue concealed carry is, gun owners should not let the carry issue distract them from other efforts already underway to diminish their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Those of you who have been following the topic of gun control this year know that there are some key items on the gun-grabbers’ legislative wish list. Among the crown jewels are the ban and confiscation of semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns; the ban and confiscation of standard capacity magazines; the registration of lawful gun owners; and the mandatory reporting of lost and stolen firearms. The gun controllers claim that these measures are necessary to protect public safety. Of course, firearm owners know that these measures are designed strictly for the purpose of punishing people who dare to own a gun.

A glimpse of what we may soon be facing was provided by a front-page feature in the latest Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune. In that story, we learned of a single mom so desperate for cash that she volunteered to become a straw purchaser for hardened criminals who were prohibited from purchasing firearms. She was eventually caught and is now serving a multi-year prison term for her misdeeds.

As far as gun owners are concerned, the hapless straw purchaser is right where she belongs jail. Interestingly, the author of the piece spins the story to suggest that the woman is in jail not because of her decision to commit crimes, but because the “gun lobby” has fought against legislation supposedly designed to combat straw-purchasing. Once again, the notion is put forth that muggers, mass murderers, and straw purchasers only commit crimes because the “gun lobby” lets them. In this case, it’s gun owners’ fault that this mom is in jail rather at than home with her kids.

In short, it seems that the purpose of the straw purchase story is to promote legislation requiring gun owners to report “lost or stolen” firearms to the police within a short time of them being lost or stolen. As is often the case, such legislation may sound good on the surface. But, the devil is in the details, and those details place an undue burden on firearm owners. Such proposals may be fine in theory, but problematic in practice.

So, here is what you need to do to help ensure passage of shall-issue concealed carry and prevent passage of extremist gun control proposals:

1. Call your State Representative and your State Senator. Politely tell the person who answers the phone that you are a law-abiding Illinois firearm owner and that you would like the senator or representative to vote for “shall-issue” concealed carry and vote against “may-issue” concealed carry. Likewise, advise the person that you oppose any proposal that would diminish your right to keep and bear arms and expect the legislator to oppose such measures as well. If you do not know who your representative or senator is, the Illinois State Board of Elections has an interactive search page here:www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx

If you already know who your legislators are and just need the contact info, you can find that here: www.ilga.gov/house/. and here: www.ilga.gov/senate/.

2. Pass this alert on to your friends and family and ask them to make calls as well.

3. Post this alert to any and all Internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you belong.

FURTHER ACTION The Will County Board will vote on a resolution in favor of Concealed Carry this coming Thursday at 9:30 in the Will County Office Building, 2nd Floor, 302 N. Chicago Avenue, Joliet. It’s important that firearm owners show up for the vote to show their support for the measure. Plan on being there at 9:00 AM so that you can get a seat.

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ISRA Issues Urgent Alert On Mag Ban Legislation

May 10, 2013 by 2 Comments

The Illinois State Rifle Association issued an urgent alert this morning regarding moves by State Senator Antonio Munoz (D-Chicago) that, if passed, would result in the banning and confiscation of all magazines over 10 round capacity.

Anti-gun Chicago Sen. Antonio Munoz today filed an amendment to SB1002 that would result in the banning and confiscation of all magazines over 10 rounds.

THE BOTTOM LINE: If Munoz’s bill passes, you’d go to jail longer for having a standard AR-15 magazine in your own home than you would if you robbed a liquor store.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO PROTECT YOUR GUN RIGHTS:

1. Immediately contact your State Senator and politely tell the person who answers the phone that you are a law-abiding Illinois firearm owner who opposes SB1002. Advise the person further that you would like the Senator to vote against SB1002 should it come to the floor.If you do not know who your State Senator is, the Illinois State Board of Elections has an interactive search page here:
www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx

If you already know who your State Senator is and just need the contact info, you can find that here: www.ilga.gov/senate/.

2. Pass this alert on to your friends and family; tell them to make calls as well.

3. Post this alert to any and all Internet blogs and bulletin boards to which you belong.

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Supreme Court Grants Illinois 30-Day Extension

May 3, 2013 by 10 Comments

The United States Supreme Court has granted Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s request for a 30-day extension in which to file a writ of certiorari in the joint carry cases of Shepard v. Madigan and Moore v. Madigan.

The application was granted by Justice Kagan.

From the court’s order:

Title:
Lisa Madigan, et al., Applicants
v.
Michael Moore, et al.
Docketed: May 1, 2013
Lower Ct: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  Case Nos.: (12-1269, 12-1788)

~~~Date~~~  ~~~~~~~Proceedings  and  Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apr 26 2013 Application (12A1053) to extend the time to file a
petition for a writ of certiorari from May 23, 2013 to June 24, 2013,
submitted to Justice Kagan.
May 2 2013 Application (12A1053) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until June 24, 2013.
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ISRA On Concealed Carry For Illinois

April 30, 2013 by

Playing fast and loose with your constitutional rights is just business as usual for some politicians in the State of Illinois. As this latest message from the Illinois State Rifle Association makes clear, the Madigans – father and daughter – are just the latest in a long line to do so.

THE MADIGANS ARE PLAYING POLITICS WITH YOUR FAMILY’S SECURITY

As most readers know by now, the appeals court has directed the Illinois General Assembly to pass a concealed carry bill by June 9th. As might be expected, the leadership of the House and Senate have been employing every trick in the book to avoid complying with the court order.

The first stalling tactic came when Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked for a review of the decision by the full appellate court. The court refused and told the legislature to get back to work and pass a concealed carry law by the deadline.

Once Madigan’s request was shot down, it was time for the General Assembly to work its own special brand of magic. Gun grabbers in the House introduced a “concealed carry” bill with a couple of dozen amendments containing foolish restrictions on concealed carry along with unacceptable gun control provisions.

After that came gun-hater Kelly Cassidy’s “concealed carry” bill which was so insanely restrictive that it only garnered 31 votes in the House.

A few days after Cassidy’s flop, the House voted on the ISRA-supported HB0997 carry bill. Unfortunately, the bill fell a few votes short of the supermajority requirement imposed by House Speaker Mike Madigan. Once again, the security of law-abiding Illinoisans took a back seat to the politics of gun control.

Meanwhile, over in the Senate, anti-gun Sen. Kwame Raoul was crafting a so-called “compromise” concealed carry bill. Under the provisions of this bill, applicants for concealed carry would pretty much have to surrender most of the protections they enjoy under the Bill of Rights. Furthermore, the bill would have given Cook County special powers to deny carry permits, even though the applicant had passed muster with the FBI and Illinois State Police. In other words, average citizens living in Cook County would be denied the right to defend themselves. Of course, it would be a different story for the county sheriff’s political supporters.

Just yesterday, Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that she has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a 30-day extension for filing an appeal of the lower court’s requirement that Illinois pass concealed carry. Madigan’s latest stunt is purely political as she hopes to push back any action on concealed carry to a time where it becomes an issue in the 2014 elections. In essence, the political interests of the Madigan family trump the security of your family.

At the moment, we are not sure how all this will play out. There are numerous possibilities and, when your action is needed, we will alert you. So, keep an eye on your in-box.

You may rest assured that the ISRA will not waver in its commitment to deliver a “shall issue” carry bill. We will not accept any bill that denies people the right to self defense because of their ZIP Code. We will not accept any requirements that make it impossible for everyday law-abiding citizens to afford the cost of a permit in terms of either time or money. We will not accept any sort of “compromise” bill that bans semiautomatic firearms or limits magazine capacity or any of the other gun control garbage on the grabbers’ wish list.

We will not accept any sort of “may issue” carry bill. The ISRA and its fellow litigants in the McDonald and Shepard cases did not go to the expense of trial just to bring home a half a loaf or less. In fact, any politician who votes for a “may issue” carry bill will instantly earn a grade of “F” – regardless of past voting record. Yes, our commitment to your security runs that deep.

In the mean time, here is what you need to do to help ensure that a “shall issue” carry bill passes:

1. Contact both your State Senator and your State Representative. Politely tell the person who answers the phone that you are a law-abiding Illinois gun owner and that you will not accept any “may issue” concealed carry bill or any bill that excludes Cook County or any other jurisdiction. Advise the person that you expect the Senator or Representative to vote for “shall issue” legislation such as that provided for in HB0997.
If you do not know who your State Senator is, the Illinois State Board of Elections has an interactive search page here:
www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx

Once you know who your State Senator and State Representative are, you can find their contact info here:
www.ilga.gov/senate/
and here:
www.ilga.gov/house

2. Pass this alert on to your friends and family; ask them to make calls as well.

3. Post this alert to any and all Internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you belong.

Remember – “shall issue” concealed carry will not get passed unless you are prepared to take action. Keep making those calls to your Senators and Representatives!

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Urgent Alert For Illinois Readers

March 19, 2013 by 1 Comment

The Illinois State Rifle Association reports that vote on a magazine ban will come up today in the Illinois State House. It will come as Amendment 12 to HB 1156.

This amendment would make it illegal to “to knowingly deliver, sell, receive, transfer, purchase, or cause to be delivered, sold, received, transferred, purchased, or possessed a large capacity ammunition feeding device.” A “large capacity ammunition feeding device” is defined as a magazine, etc., that could hold more than 10 rounds. Tubular-fed rimfire rifles and lever action rifles would be exempted from this definition.

Of course, this amendment contains exemptions for those thought to have a higher need to possess a “large capacity ammunition feeding device”. Those include cops, the military, and Hollywood. It also contains a provision that would allow the manufacture of magazines so long as it was for cops, the military, and Hollywood. Under the amendment, manufacturers could also make magazines for sale out of state. I call this the “merchant of death” provision given the proponents of this amendment consider these magazines much too deadly for Illinois residents to possess but don’t give a big rat’s ass what happens outside the friendly confines of the Prairie State.

Read the ISRA alert below and act accordingly.

House Speaker Michael Madigan and his gun-grabber pals have just reintroduced their magazine ban as Amendment 12 to HB1156.


THIS MAGAZINE BAN WILL BE UP FOR A VOTE ON TUESDAY


If this ban passes, you will have to go down to the police station and register your magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and you will have to sign an oath that you will never sell them to anyone else.


GUESS HOW MANY CRIMINALS WILL BE REQUIRED TO REGISTER THEIR MAGAZINES? THE ANSWER IS ZERO!


Of course, sales of new magazines holding more than 10 rounds would be BANNED.


It’s very important that you make these calls. We realize that you’ve been called upon to act many times so far this year. But your continued support is crucial. Madigan and the gun-grabbers are hoping that you will get tired of defending your rights.


MADIGAN NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE WILL NEVER GET TIRED OF DEFENDING OUR RIGHTS!


HERE IS WHAT YOU MUST DO TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS


1. Call your state representative and politely tell them you are a law-abiding gun owner who objects to magazine bans. Politely advise them to vote NO on Amendment 12 – the magazine ban. If you do not know who your state representative is, then the Illinois State Board of Elections has a new interactive search page here:
www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx


If you know who your representative is, you can find their contact info here:
www.ilga.gov/house/.


2. Post this alert to any and all Internet Bulletin Boards or blogs to which you subscribe.


3. Pass this alert on to your friends and family and ask them to call their legislators as well.