June 27, 2024
The Chicago Tribune Doesn’t Like It That Law-Abiding Gun Owners are Defending Themselves
In a city where criminals know they can get away with violence and criminal shootings – even when police are involved – it’s not surprising that law-abiding Chicagoans would consider arming themselves and, God-forbid, having to use their firearm for self-defense in protection of their families.
We’ve been covering how slow or even non-existent police response times have become across the country, due to declining funding and resources, despite overwhelming cries for help.
The crime situation is so bad there that residents must rely on themselves for safety. In fact, according to NSSF-adjusted NICS data, nearly 200,000 firearms have been purchased during the first five months of this year alone, including in Chicago. When you know that more than 50 percent of high-priority calls to emergency dispatchers go unanswered, you have no other choice but to exercise your Second Amendment right to purchase a firearm and use that firearm in lawful and legal self-defense
Well, the Chicago Tribune editorial board finally decided to speak out. “Worryingly, we’re seeing more signs of that phenomenon in Chicago, with three separate episodes over the last weekend in which would-be victims proved to be both armed and willing to fire at their assailants,” the board chose to write. They are just now waking up? It must be nice to live in such an Ivory Tower.
The editorial continues: “But we’re convinced the majority of Chicagoans don’t feel any safer when they read stories of good-guy-with-a-gun responses to street crime… Overall, it’s an unhealthy environment in a city when gun-packing citizens become more the norm than the exception.”
Armed Citizen Saves Neighbor Kids from Potential Stabbing
Terrel Majette was sitting on his front porch in the town of Franklin, Virginia one evening last week when he was alerted to two kids running toward his house with terror in their eyes. As the kids approached him, and his brother, the girl yelled that they were being chased by a man with a knife. She ran up onto the porch while the boy continued running for his house. Majette could see the man with two knives in his hand, about three houses down, then he ran inside to get his gun.
When he stepped back out on his porch, the man was running at full speed and almost to his yard but stopped when he saw Majette holding his gun. Meanwhile, his wife was calling the authorities, and the little girl was safely inside their house. Majette said, “I asked him multiple times to please go home as he continued to stand there wielding one of his knives.”
By the time officers responded to the scene, the man identified as Willis Barry Jr, had run into a nearby home. Authorities were able to take him into custody for a mental health evaluation. One of the officers knew Barry from a previous Emergency Custody Order (ECO).
Majette stated that he’d seen Barry in the neighborhood before and “figured he had some sort of mental illness”, but the threat of violence was still surprising. He continued, “that he had no desire to shoot Barry, but he wasn’t about to “allow him to hurt anyone”. This isn’t the first time that Majette’s been faced with a life-threatening encounter. He shared that he had been the victim of an armed robbery in Atlanta five years ago which left him with PTSD. And yet that didn’t prevent him from acting quickly in defense of his young neighbors from the knife-wielding man who was chasing them.
It just goes to show that you always need to be ready and have a gun within close proximity, wherever you may be.
Remington Auction
On July 11, 2024, there will be an online auction of any leftover equipment from the Remington factory in Ilion, New York. This is a no reserve auction. It will end Remington’s tenure in New York state which was started in 1816. I am sure Remington will do very well in its new manufacturing plant in Tennessee.
LITIGATION UPDATES
In the Harrel v Raoul case which is the Protecting Illinois Communities Acts (the semi-auto ban), we are currently interviewing expert witnesses and preparing for trial in September.
SAF Files Appellants Brief in Challenge of Cook County Gun Ban
Another Illinois case we’re watching closely is the Second Amendment Foundation has filed an Appellants brief with the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the continuing challenge of the ban on so-called “assault weapons” in Cook County, Illinois. The case, filed originally in 2021, is known as Viramontes v. Cook County.
“The question presented in this case is straightforward,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “whether the Second Amendment permits the government to ban the best-selling rifles in America and similar semiautomatic firearms erroneously labeled as ‘assault weapons.’ We maintain the answer to that clearly is No.”
“Semiautomatic rifles are commonly used for self-defense, hunting, predator control, competition and recreation, and there can be no doubt they are protected by the Second Amendment”, said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut.
In the other Illinois Rifle Association cases, we are waiting for judges to make rulings so we can proceed to the next step.
OF INTEREST TO OUR ILLINOIS HUNTERS
Fall Turkey Permit Applications
Lottery 1: Closes July 1, 2024
Lottery 2: July 12, 2024 – August 19, 2024
Fall Deer Firearm Permit Applications
Lottery 2: ENDS June 30, 2024
Lottery 3: July 11, 2024 – August 16, 2024
Over-The-Counter Sales: County-issued permits remaining after the 2024 Lottery 3 Deer Firearm and Muzzleloader drawings, will be available for sale over the counter (OTC) at License Vendors on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Special Hunt Area permits are only available during the Lottery application periods and are not sold OTC. <Please check the IDNR Website> at https://dnr.illinois.gov/hunting.html, for further requirements and information. We’ll be posting the upcoming Illinois Fall Turkey and Deer hunting season dates, before the seasons begin.
If you are planning a hunting trip out-of-state this fall, be sure you have your Hunter’s Safety certification. Many states require these.
June 27, 1950 – U.S. Forces Sent to Korea
President Harry S. Truman orders troops to be sent to South Korea, because North Korean communists were invading the country. In the late 1940’s Kim Il-Sung came to power with support from the Soviet Union and Red China. Although the UN had tried to institute free elections the USSR resisted, fearing they would lose power in the region. The Japanese controlled Korea enslaved the men and forced women into prostitution. The Soviets and the Chinese hated the Japanese as much as the Koreans.
Kim Il-Sung was born in Korea but was raised in China. He enlisted in the Soviet army for military training. The communists wanted to control the Korean Peninsula. When free elections were held is South Korea the North Koreans invaded.
June 28, 1953 – Workers Assemble the First Corvette
The first Chevrolet Corvette rolls off the assembly line in Flint Michigan. It had a fiberglass body and a six-cylinder Chevrolet engine. That wasn’t exactly what we would call a performance sports car. It wasn’t until 1955 that the Corvette had a V8 engine that dramatically improved its performance.
June 28, 1914 – The Beginning of World War I
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife are assassinated by a Bosnian Serb nationalist in the capital city of Sarajevo. This assassination started a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I and changed the political map of the world forever.
July 1, 1898 – The Battle of San Juan Hill
Future President Theodore Roosevelt would lead the first U.S. Volunteer Cavalry known as “the Rough Riders” up San Juan Hill on the southern coast of Cuba. The fame bestowed on the Roosevelt for his victory there would help him become President of the United States.
July 1, 1863 – The Battle of Gettysburg Begins. It would be the high point in the Civil War for the Confederacy. Berdan’s Sharpshooters saved the day for the Union Army and the nation. I wrote extensively about this last year.
July 2, 1776 – Unanimous Vote for Independence
The Second Continental Congress adopted Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson was busy writing the Declaration of Independence on an unusually hot July day in Philadelphia that year. This document would change the world.
I will remind you of some of the words in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are…”
Our rights come from our Creator. Not congress, not the president of the United States, not government bureaucrats, not the Illinois General Assembly, not the state of Illinois, not the governor of Illinois, not by some city council, and not by any organization of self-appointed do-gooders.
July 3, 1775 – George Washington Officially Takes Command of the Continental Army
July 3, 1863 – Battle of Gettysburg Ends
On the third day of the battle, Robert E. Lee retreated back to Virginia. The Confederate’s had high hopes when they begin the Battle of Gettysburg. Momentum seemed to be on their side. They outnumbered the federal troops 24,000 to 19,000 but it was not to be.
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