Illinois is at it again!

Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day

A couple of pictures from the Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day today in Springfield. Very well attended!

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More on IGOLD

ISRA Thursday Bulletin:

Executive Directors Message

IGOLD 2019 is now nestled into the history as one of the best we have ever had. I want to thank all those who attended, the fabulous volunteers, staff, bus sponsors and organizations who helped make IGOLD 2019 a great event. Our keynote speaker, David Keene, did a wonderful job and will be a tough act to follow. This year’s March to the Capitol was a spectacle to behold. The March was a sea of gold that seemed to flow down Capitol Avenue. We were aided by beautiful sunny weather and temperature in the 60s. There is no question that things went well for us this year.

With what is being proposed and talked about in the Illinois General Assembly, IGOLD needed to be great; items like ammunition taxes, magazine bans, semi-auto bans and fingerprinting for FOID card holders, Illinois gun owners have a lot on the table. Gun owners needed to send a message and we Did!
It was reported that about 7000 people were in attendance.


In a case known as People of the State of Illinois v Vivian Claudine Brown, a White County Judge has found that the FOID card is unconstitutional regarding firearms in the home. Vivian had a .22 single shot rifle for protection and someone reported her for having a firearm without a FOID card. Of course, the police came and found the firearm and no FOID card. Vivian was arrested and charged with having a firearm without a FOID card.

The case has been appealed by the State of Illinois. Vivian was defended by a Public Defender in the lower court. Illinois State Rifle Association Attorney David Sigale will be representing her before the Illinois Supreme Court.

I have been receiving phone calls asking if Illinois citizens still need their FOID card. The answer is yes. Apparently, there are rumors that Illinois citizens don’t need it because of the White County ruling. Disregard those rumors. This case won’t be decided for months.

The case of Wilson v Cook County will be heard before the Seventh Circuit Court of the United States on April 4th. This is an assault weapons ban case. This case includes the ISRA and the Second Amendment Foundation, besides Mr. Wilson. No ruling is expected until at least next Fall. I expect this case to go before the United States Supreme Court eventually.
 
After reading the text of the bill (HB0888), part of it seems a bit vague.

In part, it says "Provides that each applicant for a Firearm Owner's Identification Card shall furnish to the Department of State Police a list of every social media account."

So it says the applicant must provide a list of accounts. It doesn't say a thing about furnishing the user names and/or passwords for those accounts.

So if the account is password protected, how will the Illinois Department of State Police access the account(s)? Shouldn't a warrant be needed? And absent a warrant, if they hack into the account, or get the information from the account's server, wouldn't that constitute an illegal search?

Granted, for Internet forums such as this one, no password or user name is needed to view anything said by anyone, but still...how would law enforcement know who's saying what? If all they have is a list, they wouldn't have a clue who (for instance) Watchdog really is.

What am I missing here?

They don't need a password to read everything a person has ever written on line ..

NSA .. need I say more !!!
 
ISRA Legislative Alert

Recently filed legislation (Floor Amendment #1 to HB 96) is a giant leap toward fire arm registration. It also dramatically increases the cost of a FOID card as well as over-complicating the FOID card process well beyond what it already is. This bill is intended to punish honest gun owners.


This is what the gun grabbers want! They want to discourage honest people from owning firearms. Make no mistake, this legislation is one of the most outrageous gun control bills to date!


The legislation would substantially increase cost of a FOID card (currently $10 for a 10-year license) and over-complicate the process by:

Mandating fingerprinting as a requirement to obtain/renew a FOID card – minimum of $35 charge to cover fee for federal background check and those costs be as high as $100;

Increasing FOID card renewals by 100 percent by reducing the renewal time from 10 years to 5 years;

Mandating FOID applications be made in person at ISP – with only 21 ISP districts, this would be a hardship for many gun owners.

Requiring private firearm sales/transfers go through a licensed dealer – prohibits loaning firearms for hunting/recreational shooting & creating a de facto firearm registry;

It is time to take action and stand up for your 2nd Amendment rights. Now is the time to join the Illinois State Rifle Association, Illinois’ premier advocacy organization for the 2nd Amendment. The Illinois Rifle Association continues to stand for our 2nd Amendment rights, but we are only as strong as our membership. The more members we have, the louder our voice is in Springfield.

Call your legislators today and urge them to oppose Floor Amendment 1 to HB 96.
 
ISRA Thursday Bulletin 4/11/19

The Gun Sanctuary County movement which started in Effingham County, Illinois has now spread throughout the country. In Washington State two more counties have declared themselves Gun Sanctuary Counties. Here in Illinois, Carroll County has now joined the ranks of the resistance. More are pending.

Under the guise of a solution to the Aurora shooting, Representative Kathleen Willis (D-77 Northlake) has proposed draconian legislation that is an attack on every gun owner. This proposal, if passed, would destroy personal gun ownership by law-abiding citizens in Illinois, which is the goal of the anti-gunners. Willis’s bill, HB96 FA1(Floor Amendment 1) attacks gun owners in several ways. First, it would require every FOID card applicant and FOID card renewal holder, to be fingerprinted. The cost of this would be astronomical, up to $250. Moreover, the applicants would have to pay for their own background investigation. That may be $100 or more. Each applicant would have to go to a fingerprint vendor and have their prints taken electronically.

Second, every applicant, new or renewal, would have to go to an Illinois State Police District office to apply in person. There are only 22 Illinois State Police District Headquarters in the State. Even if anyone in their right mind wanted to do it that way, it would mean every district headquarters would have to do 87 per day. Where would everyone park, where would they sit, what space would they use, what about restrooms? None of those things exist. Staffing would be a nightmare. The applicants themselves would have to travel miles. What if you didn’t have transportation and were handicapped?

By now, you are probably thinking why am I explaining all of this if you are going to refuse to do it anyway? Because I want you to understand how poorly all of this is/was thought out. These anti-gunners claim they care. They don’t. They also want to attack every gun owner. Every gun owner needs to understand they are the target. All the talk about crime control is just a ruse.

This bill also mandates that every firearm sold or transferred must go through a dealer which would create a de facto firearm registry. You also can’t loan a firearm to anyone else for hunting or recreational shooting. There are other little gems in HB 96 FA 1. This bill exposes where the anti-gun side wants to go. This must not happen.

Sound the alarm to every firearm owner you know. While you are at it, be sure they join the ISRA.
 
Maybe I’m a glass half full kinda guy, but I see this as grasping at straws by these nuts knowing full well that eventually it all will be ruled unconstitutional by Trump appointees. I foresee the FOID act being ruled as such in my lifetime and I think these grabbers know they’re on borrowed time. And yes I keep the pressure up on my Rep and Senator.
 
Maybe I’m a glass half full kinda guy, but I see this as grasping at straws by these nuts knowing full well that eventually it all will be ruled unconstitutional by Trump appointees. I foresee the FOID act being ruled as such in my lifetime and I think these grabbers know they’re on borrowed time. And yes I keep the pressure up on my Rep and Senator.

Not necessarily! There is no guarantee that a judge, whether it is a federal appeals court, federal circuit court, or SCOTUS will actually abide by the principles they profess during their confirmation process. Look at the record of Chief Justice John Roberts and now Brett Kavanaugh, after confirmation, both became less concerned with constitutional views and more concerned with balance on the court, generally siding with the liberal justices.
 
ISRA Thursday bulletin

Executive Directors Message
The Illinois General Assembly is on recess until April 30th. There are only 21 Legislative days until adjournment. This means that things may happen quickly in Springfield so everyone will have to be on high alert. I expect the bills that might move in Springfield are most likely shell bills. Shell bills are bills that make small insignificant changes in some law and are then passed though Committee; they have the language stripped out of the bill and has completely new language put in the bill. It is very possible that the bills we will be fighting will be completely different than the ones we have been talking about. Please have both your State Representative’s and State Senator’s phone number ready.

The ISRA will be at the NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis on the 26th, 27th and 28th of April. We are in booth 1406. Please stop by and see us.

In the last few decades, Illinois has been on the front lines fighting the anti-gun movement. We have suffered blistering anti-gun attacks. We have survived. Creative ideas like the Gun Sanctuary County movement started here In Illinois. Now we see that idea spreading to states that have been traditionally bulwarks of the Second Amendment. The reason this phenomenon is happening is that many states that were seen as solid Second Amendment states are under full scale attack by the anti-gun left. New Mexico is a great example. Left wing liberals have moved into New Mexico and taken over the public offices. Wyoming has not passed a pro-gun control bill in several years. The traditionally outdoor oriented states like Washington and Oregon are under attack also.

Those of us who have been fighting for gun rights have a term called the Wyoming Stare. It applies far beyond Wyoming. If I were to talk to a person from Wyoming and tell them what we are facing in Illinois, it would be like I was speaking a foreign language to them. They would say, “Well, it won’t happen where I live.” It is becoming more apparent that it may no longer be true. This is a real problem on the national level. Gun owners in those states have to get organized and do it quickly.

Gun owners in states like Illinois have to change some seats, particularly in the U.S. Senate. In 2020, in Illinois, we will have that chance. Senator Richard Durbin will be up for election. It is my guess that Durbin will run again but only serve a couple of years, and then pass the seat on to another liberal democrat so whoever gets the seat will be able to run as an incumbent. Gun owners need to fight this in a couple of ways, starting with the Primary Election. Hopefully, a more conservative pro-gun democrat will run. The next chance is in the General Elections. We cannot control who the various parties put in to run. It becomes a problem if an underfunded perfect candidate runs for election. Gun owners have to vote, work and donate with their brains, not with their hearts. We must elect the best candidate that can win. Not necessarily the one that sounds the best.
 
And if someone is convicted and the sentencing is say 2-10 years, but out in 20 months with good behavior is a joke.

Whatever happened to 3 strikes?

The scared bleeding hearts want even more laws, but they neuter the sentencing so its just sad.

There was a case about 15-20 years ago where a convicted felon transported 5 stolen handguns across state lines and sold them. I think when he was caught, the total max sentence was 412 years. He was out in less than 10. So, several dozen more felonies, and STILL not locked up for good? Felon in possession of firearms, transporting stolen goods across state lines x5, selling stolen goods x5, selling firearms to felons x5, and committing all these felonies while in possession of a firearm/s adds even more felonies. Oh, filing off the serial numbers x5.

Sentences must have run concurrent or that was the luckiest person in the federal justice system, typical federal sentence is 90%
 
ISRA ALERT!

"Please Stand By for ALERTS - May 15, 2019

We’ve uncovered intel that Kathleen Willis is prepared to release an amendment on an unknown bill. This legislation will move fast so keep checking your email. More details on the bill number and amendment as your lobbying team gets them.

Be prepared to fill out witness slips and/or call your legislators when needed.

Richard Pearson
ISRA Executive Director"
 
Amendment to SB1966. Fix the FOID.
SB1966ham001 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Increase the fee for the FOID to $50 and drop the current 10 year renewal to every 5 years. Require all applicants to submit electronic fingerprints to ISP. Disqualifies any one under 21 with a misdemeanor on their record( other than traffic), and requires any applicants under 21 years of age to submit parental approval with application and can also hold those parents responsible for any subsequent actions if I’m reading it right.

Call your reps ASAP.
 
More on SB1966

Wednesday afternoon, Kathleen Willis’s draconian FOID card bill was posted to Committee as SB1966. SB1966 was a Public Defender Bail Program bill. The bill was hijacked and it will be amended which will turn the bill into HB96 FA1. Since this bill has already passed the Senate, if this bill passes the House all that needs to happen is the Senate has to concur with the House and the bill will be on the Governor’s desk. There will be no hearings in the Senate.

Remember, the title of SB1966 will remain the same so don’t be fooled. The original sponsors may also change. This is the kind of General Assembly trickery that we expected. This is the most dangerous bill we have ever faced. As I write this, the bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee and will be heard on May 21st. The bill is not ready for witness slips yet but that could change by the time you read this. We will keep you posted.
 
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