July 30, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – July 30, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson Civilian Marksmanship Program Announces Sale Of M14s Excerpt from Article by Cam Edwards of bearingarms.com  To read the entire article, CLICK HERE. The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has offered military surplus rifles for sale to members of CMP-affiliated clubs for many years. After approvals from the Army and ATF, it has been announced that the CMP will soon start selling over 100,000 historic M14 rifles to American citizens with the first sales now expected to occur in late 2026. The CMP revealed that the rifles will be modified to be "permanently and irreversibly semi-automatic rifles," and will be "fully compliant with CMP enabling legislation authorizing the transfer and sale of military surplus .30 caliber rifles." This could open the door to apply the same logic to the millions of surplus 5.56 firearms (M16A1, A2, A4s, etc.) in military storage,...

July 23, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – July 23, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson Litigation Update Usually, this time of year is as dull as can be as far as litigation goes but not this year.   Here are the reasons.  The Seventh Circuit, which is the federal appeals court for Illinois, has ruled the Cook County semi-auto ban constitutional. The Supreme Court of the United States ( SCOTUS ) was requested to issue a writ of certiorari to the Seventh Circuit, and it has done so.  A writ of certiorari is an order from a higher court to a lower court to send a certain case up for review. The lawsuit is Viramontes v Cook County, which has been combined with a Connecticut lawsuit, Grant v Higgins. Connecticut has a similar semi-auto and magazine ban. The Seventh Circuit has also ruled the Protect Illinois Communities Act ( PICA ), the Illinois semi-auto...

July 16, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – July 16, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson   Volunteers Needed For The 2026 Academics Integrity Marksmanship Program   Dear ISRA Member,   The Illinois State Rifle Association is one of the proud sponsors of the Academics Integrity Marksmanship ( AIM ) program youth shoot at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta, Illinois.  This is one of the premier youth shooting events in the United States.   To make this program work, the ISRA needs 20 volunteers a day to help at this event.  The volunteers will be helping load magazines, assist the kids shooting and, of course, making sure everyone is safe.  The dates of the event are Friday, July 24th, and Saturday the 25th.  The times are from 8:30am to 5:00pm on Friday and 9:30am to 5:00pm on Saturday.  Lunches and refreshments will be provided but, if you have special dietary needs, you should bring...