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From the Staff: Law-abiding gun owners of Illinois deserve better
Having lived from the southern tip of Lake Michigan to the Hub of the Universe, I can honestly say I love Illinois and (most) of its people.
I drove to my hometown the other day for a celebration of my mom’s 88th birthday. As I dropped down the hill to take the back way into Spring Valley (Bureau County), I grinned.
I could see the bottomlands from where, when flooded, we took bullheads by the dozens. I knew on the other side a certain line of trees flowed the Illinois River, where we fished, boated and skied. And on the few beaches with some decent sand, there may have been a party or two.
I could practically see where my high school friends and I — without dogs or with someone’s mutt — chased pheasant, quail and rabbit. When my next-door neighbor got a purebred beagle, our quality of life skyrocketed.
My late father’s people are farm people from Ireland. Perhaps I have some unreasonable, romantic attachment to land and water. But when I see a farm field, I see the footsteps of my brothers. I can tell you which can make a pair of rubber boots last forever and which cannot wear rubber boots; he just doesn’t have the ankles for it. My thoughts drift to Labs and goldens and setters — all good, loyal and loving family — now passed.
I love this land. But today I am a bit resentful and $750 poorer.
The money? I bumped my life membership in the NRA up to “endowment” level and applied for life membership in the Illinois State Rifle Association.
Perhaps I should have done both long ago. I was an off-again, on-again NRA annual member until I lived in the Chicago area. There, the private skeet and trap clubs generally require NRA membership to join.
Then, seeing the annual legislative proposals — the sponsors of which wouldn’t know a buttstock from a bore — coming out of Chicago, I took advantage of a half-price offer and joined the NRA for life. The NRA doesn’t always thrill me, but it’s one of the only options out there for those of us who want to keep shooting.
Redneck? Gun nut? Please, I just don’t have time for it.
I learned shooting and gun safety from officers of the Illinois Department of Conservation (when it was called that); my dad, a World War II vet who was a gunner’s mate on a PT boat; and my brothers, who got their early instruction the same way I did. Later, I would take instruction from police range masters, NRA instructors and finally earn my own NRA instructor credentials.
I have vowed to retake the courses and regain my expired instructor credentials. More time, travel and payout are ahead.
Why? In a few words, liberal Chicago Democrats.
Here’s what hit my button lately: Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed mandatory handgun registration (at $65 per gun) and a bill by Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, that would levy a 2 percent surcharge on all ammunition sales.
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Good commentary.
There's an old saying - that there is Chicago, north of I-80 and east of Route 47, and Illinois.
Unfortunately, there are enough Demonrats in and around Chicago, that, combined with the illegal and graveyard voters, can control what goes on in Springfield most of the time.
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