June 9, 2022
On Monday, June 6, 2022, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart held a press conference to announce his proposal to make all ammunition sales go through a State Police “FTIP” check which is what is required when a firearm Is purchased from a Federal Firearms dealer. The bill number for this is HB5380. Here is how this law would work:
Federal Firearms dealers (FFLs) would have to make a FTIP inquiry to sell a box of ammunition. They would have to charge you $25.00 on top of the price of the ammunition. A $3.00 box of .22s would cost you $28.00, plus tax.
Private sales of ammunition would go through the same process using the Illinois State Police portal. Additionally, the seller would have to keep the record of the transaction for 10 years.
In either case, through an FFL or private sale, you would have to report the type and amount of ammunition purchased. This is ammunition registration. Failure to do this would be a Class A misdemeanor the first time and a Class 4 felony the second time. This would cause delays in background checks to firearm sales approvals as well as ammunition approvals. This is a delay in a Fundamental Constitutional Right. A right delayed is a right denied.
This is the Sheriff’s explanation of why this is important to stop criminals from buying ammunition. Criminals do not have FOID cards. For the uninitiated to buy ammunition in Illinois, you need to have a FOID card. New FOID cards do not have an expiration date on them. To check to see if they are valid, a seller must go to the Illinois State Police website portal and click on the firearms and ammunition box in the upper left-hand corner. When the portal opens you enter the person’s FOID card number and birthdate. If they are clear, an approval number will pop up and the sale can be made. Just for the record, for those who don’t know, a background check is done on every FOID card holder every night except Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter, and the Fourth of July because the courts are closed. If you have an Illinois Concealed Carry License, you get another background check. Illinois gun owners go through approximately one billion background checks every year even if they don’t purchase anything. If they do make a purchase, there is another background check done.
Enough is never enough for these people. They really don’t want to face the real culprits or do anything about them. It is easier to blame firearms. I know you can read my mind so I will stop.
Right now, this bill is in Rules and has not been sent to Committee. This bill is a clear indication of where the radical anti-gun crowd would like to go.
The big push is on for more gun control and as usual, the only people being punished are the law-abiding gun owners. In the proposals, there is no mention of hardening the schools or arming teachers. I think these two ideas are the best to stop school shootings. The reason is simple. These are the only two parts on the attacks on schools and students that we can control. We cannot control the minds of these mad men, we cannot control their acquaintances, friends, or relatives of the potential shooters, we cannot control how shooters get their firearms and we cannot control how, or even if, the police will follow up correctly and as we have recently witnessed, if the police will get to the scene and if they do engage the shooter. To think we can is a waste of time and resources.
In an FBI study released last week that dealt with mass shootings, they found that 75% were pre-planned. Planning was a week or two in advance and months in some cases. For school shootings, I am going to guess that the real percentage is closer to 95 or 100%. The reason is some of these shootings are spontaneous with gangs and parties that turn into gun fights.
Another fact the study pointed out is that ALL the shooters exhibited behavior that would indicate their intentions and that at least one other person knew what they intended to do but only 41% of the time it was reported. When it was reported to the police, most of the time they did not do anything or report it to the NICS check so these culprits would be prohibited from purchasing.
As I was saying, the only parts we can control is hardening schools and arming teachers and staff. I admit the arming of teachers and staff has some human factors involved. There are about 900,000 doors on schools in the United States. We should start on them now.
Speaking of schools, there is a report out about one of the people who work at the funeral home across from the school in Uvalde, Texas. This guy is a Texas Concealed Carry License holder. He saw the shooter up close as he was going to his car to get his gun. The funeral home employee started after him but was stopped by the police. This story is unverified except by the funeral home employee. The only one that could verify the story is probably the Uvalde police and they are not talking.
In Charleston, West Virginia, a twice convicted thug was speeding through a residential neighborhood. Local residents warned him there were children playing and not to do that. The thug, Charles Butler, got an AR15 somewhere and had returned to shoot up the neighborhood and the party that was going on at the time. When he got there, he was met by an armed woman who shot him dead. That is one more criminal that won’t beat the system or enjoy his personal health club in prison.
The shooting in Buffalo, New York, provides yet another great example of depending on the system instead of depending on yourself. When the shooter attacked the people in the supermarket, an employee called 911. The 911 Operator hung up on her. It has been reported that the 911 Operator was fired but it is too late now.
A good guy with a gun saved an Illinois State Trooper last week. On I-55, only a few miles from me, an Illinois State Trooper stopped a car for speeding. The Trooper did not realize the car was stolen at the time. The person driving the car was an ex-con who did not want to go back to prison. When the trooper turned to get his ticket book the ex-con tackled him from behind, started beating him, and eventually got the trooper’s OC spray. A passing motorist with a concealed carry permit stopped, drew his gun, and ordered the ex-con to get off the trooper. By this time, a tow truck had pulled up and the ex-con tried to seize the tow truck and get away. The trooper knocked him out when he tased him and hand cuffed him. The good guy with a gun saved the trooper’s life in all likelihood. In fact, the ex-con said he would have killed the trooper. The ex-con won’t be an ex-con anymore.
We are all sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for the Supreme Court of the United States to decide the New York Rifle and Pistol Association v. Corlett case. At stake is whether the right to carry extends outside the home. This issue has never been decided. We should win this case. If we do, the gun control lobby will be dealt a serious blow. How this will affect us in Illinois I don’t know yet, but it should help all concealed carry license holders. The Supreme Court of the United States releases their decisions on Mondays. We only have a few Mondays left in June so we can expect the decision anytime now. The Supreme Court of the United States session ends June 30.
In the pending Illinois cases, we are still twiddling our thumbs.
Illinois State Rifle Association 2022 Marksmanship 101 Rifle and Pistol M16 & M9 Match:
The CMP will be holding a travel Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship 101 Class at the Illinois State Rifle Association on Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2, 2022. The location is 1589 North 7000 West Rd. Bonfield, Illinois 60913. Classes are held at the same time; you will need to choose Rifle or Pistol.
Rifle 101 will be a two-day class, with day one consisting of classroom instruction, range training, and practice. Day two will be the firing of an M16 match, fired on Kongsberg Electronic targets. The cost for Rifle 101 is $95.00 for adults and $85.00 for juniors.
Pistol 101 will be one day with classroom instruction, range training and practice, followed by firing of an M9 match. The cost for Pistol 101 is $95.00 for adults and $85.00 for juniors.
CMP will be providing Rifles, Pistols and ammunition. Competitors should bring the following if they have them: Mats, scopes, jackets, safety glasses etc. Check in will begin at 7:00AM for Rifle & Pistol Saturday, October 1, 2022, and Class will begin at 8:00AM.
Competitors are responsible for providing their own lunch.
CMP is conducting seated (classroom) Range Officer Level II – Highpower Rifle and Bulls-Eye Pistol classes on Friday, September 30, 2022. Rifle 8:00AM-Noon – Pistol 1:00PM-3:00PM.
You must complete Range Officer Level I Online Course before taking Level II. Currently, registration is only open for the Range Officer Level I Course. For information, contact Amy at acantu@thecmp.org or Kim at kfilipiak@thecmp.org.
Tidbits:
June 10, 1775 – John Adams proposes a Continental Army. Adams realized the assortment of local militias would not be able to take on the well-equipped, supplied, and drilled redcoats.
June 11, 1775 – The Continental Congress appoints the Committee of Five to draft a Declaration of Independence. The Committee of Five included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Livingston, and Roger Sherman. There was more brain power in the Committees of Five than in the entire United States government today. Thomas Jefferson was specifically chosen because of his writing ability and intellect. President John Kennedy once said at a high-end state dinner that there was more intellect in the room per person except when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.
June 12, 1944 – Future President of the United States, John Kennedy, receives the Navy and Marine Medal and a Purple Heart for his actions in the South Pacific and Commander of his torpedo boat, PT 109.
June 14, 1775 – The Continental Congress establishes the Continental Army which is now known as the United States Army. Happy 247th Birthday U.S. Army!
June 14, 1777 – The Continental Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States. The Stars and Stripes was based on the Grand Union flag carried by the Continental Army in 1776 which consisted of 13 red and white stripes. Legend has said that George Washington asked Betsy Ross to add a blue canton with 13 stars on the blue background. The thirteen stars represented not only the 13 colonies but a new Constellation which represented the United States. In 1818, Congress stipulated that the only stars that could be added were those representing a new state. Prior to the rules of stars on the flag, there was pressure to add stars to honor people, places, and events.
On June 14, 1877, the 100th anniversary of the Stars and Stripes, the first Flag Day was observed. In 1949, Congress officially designated June 14 as Flag Day. Be sure to fly your flag on June 14.
June 14, 1922 – Warren G. Harding becomes the first President to speak on the radio.
June 15, 1775 – George Washington becomes the first Commander of the Continental Army. He took command of a poorly trained, poorly equipped, and disoriented army. Many of the militiamen who made up the new Continental Army did not know right from left. It was impossible to teach them to march. Eventually, someone came up with the idea to tie hay to their right foot. The new soldiers all knew what hay was. So, the command was “hay”, “hay”,” hay”, which has become more like hep, hep, hep today. The Redcoats looked down their noses at Washington and the Continental Army. They mistook ignorance for stupidity. The Continental soldiers were uneducated, not stupid. They learned quickly as the Redcoats found out at Yorktown in 1781.
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Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org
Saturday, June 11, 2022
Armed Women of America
The Great 2022 Shoot-Out
Sunday, June 12, 2022
Rifle/Pistol Training
Marksmanship League
Joe Brown Highpower League/Robert Bishop Match
Monday, June 13 & 20, 2022
Military Bench Rest League
Tuesday, June 14 & 21, 2022
Tuesday Night Irregular Rifle League
Wednesday, June 15 & 22, 2022
F-Class Rifle League
Bench Rest League
Paper & Steel League
Thursday, June 16 & 23, 2022
ISRA Smallbore Prone/F-Class League
Saturday, June 18, 2022
ISRA Academy NRA Basic Shotgun Course
Defensive Tactics for Concealed Carry-Level 1
Sunday, June 19, 2022
Springfield Armory Pistol Match
Thursday, June 23 – Sunday, June 26, 2022
Massad Ayoob MAG-40 Class
Gun & Trade Shows
Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club Gun & Knife Show – Chillicothe, IL
Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club
Dates: June 11 & 12, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-5:00
Sunday: 8:30-3:00
Admission: $3.00
Pecatonica Gun Show – Pecatonica, IL
Pecatonica Guns, Hunting & Shooting Expo
Winnebago County Fairgrounds
Dates: June 17-19, 2022
Hours: Friday: 4:00-9:00
Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $10.00 ($8.00 weekday)
Belleville Gun & Knife Show – Belleville, IL
Belleville Fairgrounds
Dates: June 25 & 26, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00