Supporting gun ownership and sportsmen's rights in response to the flurry of anti-gun and sport legislation under consideration in Congress and the Illinois State Legislature.
(If you would like to include your organization or events on our calendar, please contact us and we'll accommodate you)
(Actually, that's unfair to the real Rhinos that I've met at the Lincoln Park Zoo since they're rather sweet... Like BIG docile cows.)
That would be Congressman Mark Kirk of "Secure" Social Security Id fame, who, if you looked at his voting record and agenda seems more like a 5th column Democrat than a Republican - I mean, he's endorsed by the Brady Campaign!
The fact is that he erroneously believes that a law limiting people from making private sales of firearms would actually do anything to stop someone from obtaining a gun. If that was the case, then Chicago, with it's myriad of restrictions on possession and ownership of firearms would be the safest place in Illinois, which it apparently isn't and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) would've prevented both the VA Tech and NIU shootings where both shooters obtained their firearms through NICS approved, 100% legal means.
The reality is that NICS has never applied to individuals making an occasional sale (for example, me selling my deer rifle to my cousin) and only applies to federally licensed firearm dealers. States already decide if they will allow or disallow private sales between qualified people from the same state, which by virtue of not being interstate commerce is clearly the domain of the state and not the job of the federal government.
Update: Armed and Safe in Illinois goes over some of this and Kirk's connection to Bloomberg.
Posted 07:45AM Apr 28, 2008 by MCSA
Check out the Gratitude Campaign if you've got a minute:
Posted 10:34PM Apr 26, 2008 by MCSA
The Chicago Tribune often publicizes the official stance of the city on things like "gun bans". The paper the extra mile and describes the how the official stance is baloney.
Today was a pleasant surprise!
Editor Steve Chapman hits the proverbial nail on the head with his commentary, "City Misfires":
When a rash of gun murders takes place, it makes sense for the police to do one of two things: renew tactics that have been effective in the past at curbing homicides, or embrace ideas that have not been tried before. But those options don't appeal to Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis. What he proposes instead is a crackdown on assault weapons.
I'm tempted to say this is the moral equivalent of a placebo—a sugar pill that is irrelevant to the malady at hand. But that would be unfair. Placebos, after all, sometimes have a positive effect. Assault weapons bans, not so much.
If there are too many guns in Chicago, it's not because of any statutory oversight. The city has long outlawed the sale and possession of handguns. It also forbids assault weapons. If prohibition were the answer, no one would be asking the question.
Go read the whole thing...
Posted 01:54PM Apr 24, 2008 by MCSA
Mayor Daley Jr. keeps raving about ridding the city (and the state) of guns.
So far, guns have been banned in the City of Chicago, but the gun crime rate has GONE UP, not gone down, so obviously that is not the answer. Is that because the thugs and violent criminals know they have nothing to fear from the average citizen?
Taking guns out of the hands of the potential victims but not the criminals is like "throwing the baby out with the bath water,"
Statistics show that cities with lawfully armed citizens have much lower crime rates than those that restrict gun ownership.
Let's admit it--the thugs and violent criminals will always have guns.
What kind of sense does it make to deny the law-abiding People the right to self defense?
Maybe a better solution is to allow gun ownership and carry, but coupled with a comprehensive training course and background check. Maybe Daley thinks that this will give thugs the legal right to carry guns. But 40 other states don't think so.
But it seems that Daley is using the gun issue to draw attention away from the corruption and inefficiency in the city government and that he has lost control of the streets.
Mother Daley knows what is best for us poor clods--even if it costs us our lives
Posted 10:41AM Apr 22, 2008 by MCSA
http://www.wandtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8199664
CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago police superintendent Jody Weis (WEES) blamed an excess of guns and gangs today for a rash of shootings over the weekend that killed and wounded victims ranging from age 13 to 65.
Police say at least 14 of the 26 weekend shootings were gang-related and seven victims were juveniles, 5 of whom were out after the city curfew of 11 p.m. Four people were killed in the gun violence.
Note that last paragraph, specifically, "at least 14 of the 26 weekend shootings were gang-related". In Chicago, it's pretty much illegal to own any type of semi-automatic rifle and pretty much any type of pistol. So, it's painfully obvious that criminals aren't obeying the law and that making something already illegal even more illegal will punish only the law abiding folks. The kicker is that Weis and the "Chicago-machine" support more "gun-control" at the state level which impacts folks like us out here in McHenry Co!
I dunno, but out here in Crystal Lake, with all of our legally-owned guns, we enjoyed a quiet, sun filled weekend - I think the biggest news events were still centered around the earthquake...
Coming back to the issue at hand, could it be possible that guns aren't the root cause of this wave of violence and something as blatantly obvious as a lack of parenting skills bordering on the criminal could be to blame?
Posted 10:44PM Apr 20, 2008 by MCSA
From Deb at TFSMagnum:
But since people seem to be confused about Obama's position (and my reaction to it) even more than they are confused about Clinton's, (Hint: She is no friend to the Second Amendment.) here is a brief look at the Obama record on gun control.
In 1999, Mr. Obama urged enactment of a federal law prohibiting the operation of any gun store within five miles of a school or park. This would eliminate gun stores from almost the entire inhabited portion of the United States.He thinks outright bans are a good thing - reasonable. He isn't much on the subject of self-defense. He would rather honor misguided handgun bans than allow law-abiding citizens a chance to defend their families, and he doesn't have much sympathy for the victim's of domestic violence. The police are not obligated to protect them, the police are many minutes away in any case, and Mr. Obama is happy to have them defenseless in the face of violence. And there is a lot violence in domestic violence.
As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he "never saw or approved the questionnaire," and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.
When the U.S. Supreme Court voted last year to hear a case on the constitutionality of the Washington, D.C., handgun ban, Mr. Obama's campaign told the Chicago Tribune: "Obama believes the D.C. handgun law is constitutional" and that "local communities" should have the ability "to enact common sense laws." Other than Washington, D.C., the only American cities with handgun bans are Chicago and four of its suburbs. As a state senator, Mr. Obama voted against a 2004 bill (which passed overwhelmingly) to give citizens a legal defense against prosecution for violating a local handgun ban if they actually used the firearm for lawful self-defense on their own property.
Mr. Obama's campaign Web site touts his belief in the Second Amendment rights to have guns "for the purposes of hunting and target shooting." Conspicuously absent is the right to have firearms to defend one's self, home and family. In 2001, as a state senator, Mr. Obama voted against allowing the beneficiaries of domestic violence protective orders to carry handguns for protection.
Posted 11:42AM Apr 18, 2008 by MCSA
The Confederate Yankee has a great round-up of this:
ABC News reports that Barack Obama has collected the endorsement of a guns rights group, the American Hunters and Shooters Association:"Sen. Obama will be a strong voice an unabashed voice for America's hunters and shooters and it is with great pleasure that we endorse his candidacy," President of the Association Ray Schoenke said, citing Obama's commitment to the traditions of gun ownership.Schoenke said they had reached out to the Obama campaign several weeks ago to offer their support – but the announcement wasn't made public until today. Schoenke added that the timing amid the controversy was important.
"We believe recent attacks on Sen. Obama's stand on the 2nd amendment and his commitment to the hunting and shooting heritages are unfair."
Actually, it is Obama's record on firearms that is unfair to Americans, but don't expect Ray Schoenke to know much about gun rights, even if the Daily Kos diarist is the President of the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA).
Schoenke, a failed Democratic candidate for governor of Maryland, has donated thousands to Handgun Control, Inc, a virulent anti-gun organization that was the forerunner of Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence. He has donated tens of thousands more to anti-gun Democratic politicians including Ted Kennedy.
AHSA executive director Robert Ricker has testified as a paid witness against the gun industry and consults for several anti-gun groups, and John Rosenthal, President of the AHSA Foundation, is a former member of Sarah Brady's Handgun Control, Inc, and is leader of Stop Handgun Violence, a Massachusetts anti-gun group that has contributed to that state's intolerant anti-gun guns.
Just as Obama's record of claiming he is in favor of the Second Amendment even as he pushes for gun ban is dishonest, so is this endorsement from a trojan horse gun control organization masquerading as a group that respects American's rights to life and liberty.
Posted 12:54PM Apr 17, 2008 by MCSA
A few days ago Obama shot (no pun intended) his mouth off and insulted rural America and the liberties that Americans hold dear - right to religion and the right to keep and bear arms. Much has been said about this, but I bring you the commentary of Roberta X, from Indianapolis, since she does it better justice than I ever could:
No one has yet bothered fisking the Obama quote. Too much like shooting fish in a punchbowl? Having already been gigged by a co-worker over it ("Well, isn't it the truth?" Um, no, but hey, enjoy the Kool-aide), I spose I might try:
...And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
"And it's not surprising then they get bitter,..." referring to the response of small-town American factory workers to hard times. So the Hope guy thinks "bitterness" rather than, I don't know, "hard work" or "moving on" is a proper response to hard times? --Look, when The Plant shuts down, you find other work. Or, hey, you starve. BTDT, lived on ramen and hot dogs, found another job.
"...they cling to..." Fascinating turn of phrase from a member of the board of the Joyce Foundation to disarm Americans; "Cling to" carries a very definite connotation of "just barely hanging on" and generally implies that loss of that which is being clung to is nearly inevitable and just about imminent. (Don't take my word, Google it and see) . So the list that follows are things he figures ought to be taken away:
"...cling to guns..." Funny, that: I always thought the Second Amendment was there telling Government to back off so I would not have to "cling" to my guns. Who would be trying to take them away? --Oh, right: Senator Obama's peers and pals at the Joyce Foundation. Them. While normally here in The Heartland we regard firearms as being high on the list of things you can reliably pawn when the rent comes due, as long as the Joyces are on the job, I'll be clingin'. Not 'cos times are bad but because they are a-grabbin'.
"...or religion..." First Amendment, Senator? Remember? It's part of those funny, musty old papers, the thoughts recorded upon which you swore an oath to "support and defend." Did you read them, sir? Do you believe it applies to any church other than the one to which you belong? Or have you simply internalized Marxist hostility to religion without stopping to apply it to your own life as well? --I'm pretty tone-deaf to religious sentiments but even I can appreciate their importance; one might think a U. S. Senator and proud church-goer would have an even better grasp. ...And about that church you attend:
"...or antipathy toward people who aren't like them..." Pot. Kettle. Goin' to services at a church where the preacher thunders out his loathing for "white America" and calls down the curses of his G-d on this nation (while the Senator pretends, with blinking innocence, not to have noticed) and you've got the gall to accuse small-town America of racism? It's 2008, Senator; we may not have stopped being suspicious of one another over skin color but the vast majority of people are willin' to make an effort as long as the other person is, too; and by and large, that's what we're all doin'. A quick smile and a "how do" goes a long way -- a lot farther than bloviating from the pulpit on what a horrrrrrible place the States are, especially if you are a person of color. (Quick, gang, here's a pop quiz: standard of living in the US vs. standard of living in Africa for persons of African descent in both places, which one is higher? Don't forget to include the better-off countries). There may be a log in my eye, Senator, but you'll have to get the one out of yours before you can go after it. At least I'm tryin'.
"...or anti-immigrant sentiment..." Orly? Srsly? Like my German g'grandparents faced? 'Cos they came into the country legally. That's what immigrants do. I do b'lieve you're using a codeword and actually referring to illegal entrants to the United States. See, those people in small towns, the mostly pale ones at whom you have sneered, their ancestors are not from here. They are the descendants of immigrants. Legal immigrants. Who learned the language of their adopted country. And they're kind of wondering why people who want to be called "immigrants" now can't be bothered to follow the law or learn the lingo. They're a bit resentful of that. Y'know, in sort of the same way as your preacher?
"...anti-trade sentiment..." You mean, like when they buy imported Chinese goods at the five and dime, or were you referring to the Japanese, Korean and European cars many of them buy? Or might you have meant the wholesale export of their jobs to other countries, thanks in large part to the excessive regulation and extraordinary empowerment of unions pushed by the Left? Karma's a stone beeyotch, ain't it?
Thanks for the blog-fodder, Senator, and thanks for unfurling your true flag: the politics of resentment and class-war. The politics of sneering elitism.
Y'know, the Democrats used to at least pretend to be in touch. It's not so much that the gloves are off as the mask has slipped.
Posted 12:50PM Apr 17, 2008 by MCSA
From Armed and Safe in Illinois:
ISRA and the NRA agree that
the citizen disarmament extremists will make their move today--apparently they
want to mark the anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre by disarming an
entire state full of new potential victims with laws that would have done
nothing to stop the kind of beast who committed that atrocity.
The bills
they will most likely try to pass are HB
758 (a virtual ban of private handgun sales) and SB
1007 (a ban of standard, non-reduced capacity magazines). They may also try
to pass HB
4357, which would ban a huge array of so-called "assault weapons," .50
caliber rifles (and ammunition), and standard capacity magazines. SB 1007
is especially threatening, because it has already passed in the Senate (last
spring), so passage in the House is the last hurdle it faces before going to
Governor Blagojevich for his certain signature (the only hope then would be that
he seriously sprain something in his gleeful, mad dash to sign it).
My friends at Illinois Carry and I have compiled a list of representatives who might vote either way on these bills, and need to hear from the pro-liberty crowd:
Representative Suzanne Bassi (R-47th District)
(217) 782-8026
(217) 782-5257 FAX;
Representative Patricia Bellock (R-54th District)
(217)-782-1448
(217) 782-2289 FAX;
Representative Bob Biggins (R-41st District)
(217) 782-6578
(217) 782-5257 FAX;
Representative Sandy Cole (R-62nd District)
(217) 782-7320
(217) 782-1275 FAX;
Representative Joe Dunn (R-96th District)
(217) 782-6507
(217) 782-5257 FAX
Representative Mike Fortner (R-95th District)
(217) 782-1653
(no Springfield FAX listed);
Representative Paul Froelich (D-56th District)
(217) 782-3725
(217) 557-6271 FAX;
Representative Charles Jefferson (D-67th District)
(217) 782-3167
(217) 557-7654 FAX;
Representative Michael Madigan (D-22nd District; Speaker of the House)
(217) 782-5350
(217) 524-1794 FAX;
Representative Sidney Mathias (R-53rd District)
(217) 782-1664
(217) 782-1275 FAX;
Representative James H. Meyer (R-48th District)
(217) 782-8028
(217) 557-0571 FAX
Representative Ruth Munson (R-43rd District)
(217) 782-8020
(no Springfield FAX listed);
Representative Sandra Pihos (R-42nd District)
(217) 782-8037
(217) 558-1072 FAX;
Representative Harry Ramey (R-55th District)
(217) 558-1037
(217) 782-5257 FAX
Representative Ed Sullivan Jr. (R-51st District)
(217) 782-3696
(217) 782-1275 FAX
In case you're wondering where these districts are, here's a link to a PDF that is a map.
Posted 12:32PM Apr 16, 2008 by MCSA
Caleb from the blog Call me Ahab has a fantastic podcast reviewing the reasons that three very popular female pro-2nd Amendment bloggers Breda, Bitter and Rachel Lucas have for carrying pistols.
Check it out here.
Most arguments seem pretty straight forward:
(Photo by Oleg Volk... The model, by the way, is Kit from the excellent blog KiloIndiaTango...)
Posted 04:04AM Apr 16, 2008 by MCSA
From Alphecca:
Campaigning in Pennsylvania yesterday, Hillary Clinton promised to “halve homicide rates in major cities” with a crime fighting plan:
* To renew the ban on assault weapons and repeal the Tiahrt amendment, which restricts federal authorities from sharing gun-trace information with local law enforcement.
In addition, I'll add some clarifications for those folks reading that might not know or understand why this is such a sticking point with pro-2nd Amendment civil rights groups.
Imagine the 1st Amendment. It doesn't cease to be valid just because the citizenry has moved beyond the basic printing press and into the internet age. By similar token, the 2nd Amendment should apply to modern arms.
In addition, there is a big problem with the verbiage that many anti-civil rights gun control proponents use... The following quotes form Ellegon.com pretty much hits the mark:
In a military context, an assault rifle is "a specific military term for various types of fully-automatic and select-fire (multi-shot burst) intermediate-power long guns."An "assault weapon", on the other hand, is accurately defined by the folks at Wiki as this:
Assault weapon Assault weapon or "assault-style weapon" is a nebulous term used by public officials, media, and gun-control proponents as a dysphemism to refer to any firearms they consider inappropriate for civilian ownership or look particulary menacing. Although there is no concrete meaning for this term, legally (especially as it pertains to the assault weapons ban), "assault weapon" means whatever Congress says it means.The skeptic in me suspects that the term "assault weapon" was created specifically to fit in the sentence, "Why would anybody need an assault weapon?" It was intended as a wedge issue, to push hunters away from the rest of the firearms community, and with the "Assault Weapons Ban" ready to sunset next year, it's time to put the wedge issue away.
But let's get away from the silliness of "Why would anybody need [x]?" That's not an honest inquiry; it's just a rhetorical trick that can be used to try to argue away pretty much anything. Why does somebody need a semiauto at all, when revolvers are available? Why does somebody need a Chevy, when there are Hondas and Toyotas? Why does somebody need the Star Tribune when the Pioneer Press is being published?Restricting rights based on others' perceptions of "need" is just plain wrong.
Posted 03:38AM Apr 16, 2008 by MCSA
The Illinois Second Amendment Resolution passed unanimously (23-0) at the McHenry County Board meeting last night! We are officially the 1st "collar county" and the 75th county to pass the resolution! Thank you to all the members that showed up and the Board for listening to our comments and approving this important civil rights issue.
Posted 02:13AM Apr 16, 2008 by MCSA
IMPORTANT!
The McHenry Country Board will vote on the Second Amendment Resolution tomorrow, April 15th, 2008, at the McHenry County Courthouse Annex on Seminary Rd.
The meeting begins at 7:00 PM and MCSA members are encouraged to show up at 6:30 PM.
You can use the map below to get directions.
Posted 02:30PM Apr 14, 2008 by MCSA
From the ISRA site, I've learned that the Kankakee County Board voted 14-9 to pass the 2nd Amendment Resolution.
This makes 74 counties in all, as of the date of this post.
Posted 06:16PM Apr 12, 2008 by MCSA
I signed up to do some training near
Open carry is a legal and much exercised right in
I bring this up because many folks unsympathetic to our
civil right to keep and bear arms often don't look at the places
where it is legally and, more importantly, social acceptable to exercise your
rights.
If they did, they'd see that the people in those places are safe and still normal.
While down there, I also had the chance to stop by the Vang Comp store to pickup some shotgun parts (I've needed a bigger, more robust
safety for my Mossberg for a while...) and while we were there got a chance to
meet the legend, Hans Vang, himself!
For those that don't know, Mr. Vang patented a system that incorporates
forcing cone modification and barrel compensation to allow a shotgun to pattern
a bit tighter than stock. Full jobs or government contract runs often involve
modifying or replacing parts with more robust ones: think of the plastic
Mossberg trigger group vs. a steel one.
Vang spoke to us for about an hour about our training, folks
that we knew in common, and detailed a lot of his work. We ended up getting
baseball caps from Vang - a small price to pay since I think he ended up
getting a few future customers.
I'll one last thing and say that ~200' away from Vang Comp, around the corner, was "Chicago Hot Dogs", which made a superlative Chitown-style dog (and Polish too!). After eating steak after steak (it is ranch land, after all...), a bit of junk food was much welcome!
Posted 02:16PM Apr 11, 2008 by MCSA
Today the Illinois house voted down the 1 gun per month bill, the vote went 60 to 53. I'm proud of our legislator's who identified this as a feel good law that would most likely do nothing to curb the bloodbath on the streets of Chicago. Yes, it really seems that Chicago has a problem of young people killing each other daily. I feel sadness for all those that have been lost but, I also feel it is the culture of Chicago that has brought this bloodbath to a head. I'm told that most of this trouble is gang warfare, I'm told that Latino Gangs are battling with African American Gangs for territory. What can be done? The good people of Chicago need to stand together and take back their city, work with the Law Enforcement Community, work together to clean out the scum that kills your children. Many of these gang members are illegally here, when they are in custody somebody needs to call ICE but, it would appear nobody does. The justice system needs to stop playing catch and release with these criminals, I'm a member of the largest Gun Lobby in the U.S. and I want the justice system to offer no pleas for gun crime, prosecute the criminals and lock them up. I'm also sad because, we had 3000+/- Law-abiding Citizen's go to Springfield for IGOLD and we had little coverage up north on our local news stations but, a couple of busses with the anti-gun crowd is covered and even gets an audience with Governor Blagojevich, I spoke with the lady who cleans his office when I was there for IGOLD. When our laws are not enforced and crime is rampant does anybody really think passing new laws is going to stop the criminals? Eradicate the gangs you know who they are and you know where they are it's time to act.
"All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."- Sir Edmund Burke
Posted 07:45PM Apr 09, 2008 by LEXOW
Please see ISRA's website for additional information.
On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, Chicago Schools
CEO Arne Duncan stood at a lectern in the Thompson Center Plaza and
essentially blamed the state's hunters and sportsmen for the murders of
20 Chicago school children. Duncan made his appearance during a gun
control rally sponsored by Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina's
Catholic Church. Pfleger is best remembered for his speech at an
earlier gun control rally during which he called for the murder of gun
shop owners and state legislators who oppose gun control laws.
Interestingly enough, at about the same time that Duncan was delivering
his rant against the state's law abiding firearm owners, a report was
released in "Catalyst Magazine" that indicates that just 51% of
freshmen enrolled in Chicago public high schools stick it out to
graduate.
"Studies by the Chicago Police Department indicate
that 88% of murders are committed by people with previous criminal
records," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. "Likewise,
those same reports show that about 76% of murder victims had records as
well. Nonetheless, opportunists like Pfleger and Duncan persist in
shifting the blame away from failed public policies and towards
law-abiding hunters and sportsmen. The gun control measures these
people advocate will never succeed in thwarting crime because they
totally ignore the criminal element."
"It's ironic that the
truth about Duncan's administration was being released just as he was
damning the state's law-abiding gun owners," continued Pearson. "Maybe
if Duncan did a better job keeping his charges in school, they wouldn't
be out on the streets beating, knifing and shooting one another to
death. If Duncan had any sense of responsibility at all, he would have
been at the microphone apologizing to the people of Illinois for
wasting their time and tax dollars. By all rights, Arne Duncan should
be returning 49% of his $200,000 annual salary to the Chicago treasury.
He's doing half a job -- so he deserves half his pay."
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.
Posted 05:54PM Apr 07, 2008 by MCSA
It is with sadnesss and compassion we say farewell to a great american. Charlton Heston, hailed from our state of Illinois, he was a Non-Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and followed his american dream with the G.I. Bill to Northwestern University. Mr. Heston went into stage acting after college and even graced our county at the Woodstock Opera House on stage, before making a name for himself in Hollywood. Mr. Heston always stood for civil rights, equality and freedom, during the tumultuous years of rampant anti-second amendment legislation by our federal government , Mr. Heston stood fast for our rights and offered hope to freedom loving law-abiding citizens, as the President of the National Rifle Association of America.
We also say farewell to MCSA Charter Member Nicholas Freund, another great american. Nick also served his nation in the U.S. Army during the Cold War. Nick came home and was one of the founding members of the McHenry Rescue Squad. Nick was the co-owner of "From the Neck Up" for 32 years. Nick bravely faced cancer and didn't let it stop him from going to Springfield IL in March for Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day (IGOLD) to stand up for our civil rights. Nick's presence will be greatly missed.
Posted 04:16PM Apr 07, 2008 by LEXOW
