by Richard Pearson
As predicted, the 4th of July violence broke out in Chicago despite extra police presence in certain parts of the city. The rough totals for the weekend were 108 shot and 17 dead. Actually, that was much less than I expected. In the South Austin area, a gunman opened fire on three people, killing one of them and wounding two. A witness to the shooting was an Illinois Concealed Carry License (ICCL) holder who shot the gunman, preventing the death of the two wounded people. As I often mention, when an attack occurs, the only people there are the attacker and the intended victims. This attack was probably over in under 10 seconds despite having 5 people involved. That is how fast these things happen. We have over 410,000 ICCLS in Illinois but that isn’t enough.
by Richard Pearson
According to reports, NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) denied about 300,000 firearm purchases in 2020. The complete analysis of all of this won’t be done for a while. The anti-gun groups and their cohorts in the press would have you believe the people denied were all killers but that is not true. If we look back into the past, we can find a few patterns that will most likely apply to the latest data. About 99% of the denials were false positives which accounts for so few prosecutions. False “Red Flag” confiscations, unjustified protection orders, attempts by illegal aliens and defective applications make up most of the denials. It is true there were some attempts by criminals. It takes three or four years to see how all of this comes together. In 2017, there were only 12 prosecutions because of NICS denials.
by Richard Pearson
Both numbers of FOID card holders and ICCL holders is up and I am expecting those numbers to rise even further. I keep getting calls from reporters asking why these numbers keep increasing. If you look around and see what is happening in the United States the answer is obvious. Moreover, we are just at the beginning of the long hot Illinois summer in addition to a long Fourth of July weekend. I predict things could get pretty rough in some cities with Chicago being number one on that wild list.
by Richard Pearson
In our FOID application case, Bradley V. Kelly, we have been denied our Preliminary Injunction. We have a couple of actions we can take and we are weighing our options at this time. In our second FOID appeal case, Thomas v. Kelly, the judge denied a motion to dismiss brought by the State. We will be moving forward on this case. Other cases are waiting at this moment. I will let you know as soon as something happens.
by Richard Pearson
Every once in a while, there is a bright spot in our day. One of those bright spots popped last week in the form of a court ruling. U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego, California, struck down California’s so-called assault weapons ban declaring it unconstitutional. The lawsuit was brought by Jim Miller et al. The et al includes other California residents, Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, California Gun Rights Foundation and several other groups. Judge Benitez stated in his decision, “Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR15 is the perfect combination of a home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment, good for home defense and battle.” Of course, California Governor Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonita are squalling like a couple of long tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs. What else could we expect from these two darlings of the left wing?
by Richard Pearson
The Spring 2021 Legislative Session is over for the Illinois General Assembly. The good news is nothing bad passed. The bad news is nothing good passed. The reality is that like it or not, the State of Illinois has the FOID card and we have to deal with it. Before we get into the discussion about the bills in the Spring Session, one has to realize that the ISRA has both long and short-term goals. One of the long-term goals is to get rid of the FOID. One of the short-term goals is to get the FOID cards and ICCLs in the hands of law-abiding Illinois citizens as fast and easy as possible. We recognize that a right delayed is a right denied.