We are about to experience our first brush of early summer weather which is great news for all of us who love shooting outdoors.  You may see some new faces at the range, considering the number of new gun owners we have.  Remember, always be welcoming; this is new territory for them.  They may not know or understand all the rules.  They need a mentor, not a drill instructor.  Not only is this important to understand for range operators and Range Safety Officers, but individual members or patrons as well.

As most of you know, the unserialized firearm bill or “Ghost Gun bill” HB4383 Amendment #2 passed the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate and is headed for the Governor’s desk.  I have written several times about how the process works in Springfield, but I am going over it again since HB4383 Amendment #2 is such a good example.  HB4383 started out as a bill which required utilities to notify people by certified mail in an area where a high voltage electric line is proposed.  The original language was stripped out of the bill and replaced by the ghost gun language.  The title of the bill still retained the public utility language even though the bill had nothing to do with the title.  I received several calls asking why we were taking a stand on a public utility bill.  You have to look at the amendments to a bill to understand what the bill is about.  HB4383 passed about 2:30am on Saturday morning.  There were 993 witness slips opposing the bill and only a handful supporting it.

The ISRA office will be closing at noon on Friday to celebrate Easter with our families.  We wish you a Happy Easter! 

IGOLD 2022 is in the history books.  As we expected, it was smaller this year but it was still a success.  I would like to thank all the members, volunteers, staff, lobbyists, and board members who helped.  Once again IGOLD came off without a hitch.  Next year, we will once again be allowed into the Capitol barring unforeseen events.  I hope you will come if you didn’t make it this year.  One of the things that happened that made IGOLD successful was the 25 or 30 Senators and Representatives that joined us at the Lincoln Steps on the east side of the Capitol.  That is more than we have ever had by two.  It is great to see that support among the legislators.  Next year’s tentative date is April 5, 2023.  All that depends on the Legislative Calendar which will be out in mid-December.  We hope to see you there.

Winter has slipped away, Day Light Savings Time is here, and the first of April is hours away.  The outdoor shooting season has finally arrived.  The days are growing longer and warmer and acute cabin fever has set in.  Let’s get outdoors and do some shooting.

BELLEVUE, WA – A new survey by the nationally-recognized polling firm of McLaughlin & Associates shows strong public support for the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Second Amendment Foundation commissioned survey said 66.1 percent of the respondents agreed with the statement posed by the McLaughlin poll stating, “When you see what is going on with Vladimir Putin and Russia’s military invasion of the Ukraine, it is more important than ever for Americans to defend their 2^nd Amendment Constitutional freedoms for law-abiding citizens to continue to have the right to own guns for their personal protection.” Only 25.7 percent disagree, and only 8.2 percent had no opinion. The survey may be read here.

Last week, I wrote about a Quinnipiac Poll regarding people who would defend the United States and who would not defend this country should we be attacked as they have been in the Ukraine.  I was shocked at the number of “white flaggers” we have amongst us.  Many of these people are the same ones who would like to do away with the Second Amendment.  Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?