Chatsworth, IL -(AmmoLand.com)- Last weekend I attended the Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) in Tampa, Florida.
I am pleased to report the Illinois State Rifle Association has once again received the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Affiliate of the Year Award. It is nice to be recognized for our efforts. While President Don Moran and I accepted the award, we did it on behalf of our great members who made it possible. When one considers all of the Town Hall meetings, gatherings, leagues, competitions, classes and everything else we do, it amounts to over 400 events per year. None of this could happen without the volunteerism of our members and great staff. What makes the ISRA great is you!
A tale of two cities occurred last Thursday night at nearly the same time. In Gwinnett, Georgia, three home invaders broke into a home and store. A young woman put herself and her Glock between the home invaders and her two young children. She fired at the three home invaders, killing one of them and driving the other two into the dark. The police are still looking for the other two. Georgia is a gun friendly state. In Oak Park, Illinois, a similar thing happened, but with a much different outcome. Oak Park is not a gun friendly community. Three home invaders went into a home and the defenseless inhabitants were forced to flee their home. One of the inhabitants died in the yard of the home. That is the result of being defenseless.
The FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR) for 2015 was released Monday September 26th. The UCR shows a 3.9% increase in violent crime in 2015. Of the 13,455 murders in the United States, 9616 were from firearms. Rifles of any kind, accounted for 252 murders. This included the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Without that attack the numbers would have dropped by four from 2014.
The anti-gun news media are always spouting the number of murders in the United States compared to other countries. A quick “fact check” using Dr. John Lott’s new book “The War on Guns”, tells a different story. Using the number of murders per million, makes the comparison on a level playing field: the United States 0.316, Europe 0.52, Africa 1.162, Israel 6.825 and the Philippines 1.1829. Hillary is always bloviating about instituting Australian style gun confiscation. Australia’s murder rate is 1.513 or 379% more than that of the United States. Australia’s murder rate has gone up since they confiscated the guns of law abiding citizens there. Of course, these facts never come out because the mainstream media are the anti-gunners fellow travelers.
While at the GRPC, there were several new books worth noting, as I mentioned above. One of those books was Dr. John Lott’s, “The War on Guns”. Dr. Lott will have two book signings here in Illinois. On October 4th, Dr. Lott will be at Maxson Shooter’s Supply and Indoor Range from 5:30 – 7:00pm. Maxson’s is located at 75 Bradrock Drive in Des Plaines, IL, 60018. On October 5th, Dr. Lott will be at the Heartland Institute from 5:30 – 7:30pm. The Heartland Institute is located at 3939 North Wilke Road in Arlington Heights, IL, 60004. Don’t miss this rare opportunity!
The debate is over and I’m sorry to report that I have nothing to report, other than Lester Holt neatly sidestepping any question that would put Hillary in the hot seat. Remember, Lester Holt works for the Nobody But Clinton (NBC) network. His constant interrupting of Donald Trump at a rate of six times the rate of Hillary was notable. We have a hard battle ahead because the “fix is in” with the mainstream media.
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Upcoming events at the ISRA Range:
Check our website for more information on these events!
- October 2, 2016
- ISRA Combat Pistol League & 3 Gun
- American Legion Regional Individual 80 NMC NRA Registered
- ISRA Black Powder League
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About Illinois State Rifle Association:
The ISRA is the state’s leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. Since 1903, the ISRA has represented the interests of over 1.5 million law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.
For more information, visit: www.isra.org.