[gbatch]

The floor vote on Senate Bill 16 may come up next week sometime. According to my sources, the vote looks closer than we would like it to be. I urge you, NO, I BEG YOU if you live in Illinois, to call your State Senator; EVEN IF YOU’VE ALREADY CALLED, CALL AGAIN. If you know friends or family who live in Illinois, call them and tell them to call their State Senator. DON’T WRITE OR EMAIL THEM. WE’RE OUT OF TIME. Phone calls have more impact now. When I called my State Senator’s office, they told me they are getting lots of calls and the Senator is paying attention.

When you call your Senator, rule # 1 is BE POLITE. Don’t be angry, even though this makes your blood boil; you must be controlled or they won’t pay attention to you. Tell them your name and where you live. If they ask for your phone number, give it to them. Be honest and truthful when you tell them why you are calling. Tell them what you think and feel about this legislation. When I called, to my astonishment, I actually got to talk to my State Senator. I told him that I’ve been a tax paying, law abiding citizen, all my life; I’m a veteran who served my country and I’ve been a sportsman who abides by all current firearms laws. I think we have more than enough gun laws as it is. I shoot trap, skeet and sporting clays and I use a semi-automatic shotgun for that. I told him that, by voting for this bill, he would be declaring me to be a felon – the same as any gang banger carrying an illegal firearm. I told him I also shoot semi-automatic pistols in some competitive events and that by voting for this bill he would make me a felon. I asked him how I was supposed to explain to my wife and children that I am now considered by the government of the State of Illinois to be a felon on the same level as a murderer or a rapist. I asked him how the State of Illinois could spend $40,000,000 on a world-class shooting complex and then declare attendees to be felons, despite the exception in the Bill. I asked him how the City of Chicago would tell the Olympic shooters they were felons if Chicago gets the Olympics. I waited for his answers. He told me he agreed with me and he plans to vote against the bill. He also thanked me for calling.

There are four new State Senators this year whose votes just aren’t clear at this writing. Their predecessors were known to be pro-Second Amendment legislators. IT’S CRITICAL FOR PEOPLE READING THIS TO CONTACT THESE STATE SENATORS AND GET THEM TO VOTE AGAINST THIS BILL. These State Senators are:

Linda Holmes – Democrat 42nd District (Aurora area)
Springfield Office - (217) 782-0422
Plainfield Office - (815) 609-3711

Mike Noland – Democrat 22nd District (Elgin area)
Springfield Office - (217) 782-7746
Elgin office - (847) 214-8864

Michael Bond – Democrat 31st District (Lake County area)
Springfield Office - (217) 782-7353
Grayslake Office - (847) 752-7004

Michael Frerichs – Democrat 52nd District (Champaign area)
Springfield area - (217) 782-2507
Champaign office - (217) 355-5252

Again, I urge you, NO, I BEG you if you live in Illinois, to call your State Senator; EVEN IF YOU’VE ALREADY CALLED, CALL AGAIN. If you know friends or family who live in Illinois, call them and tell them to call their State Senator. Have them call their friends and family to do the same. DO NOT WRITE OR EMAIL THEM. We are out of time.

To find out how to contact your State Senator, go to this website:

http://www.ilga.gov/

If you don’t know who your State Senator is, try this website to do a lookup:

http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/SelectSearchType.aspx?NavLink=1

Gene Batchelar
Wheaton, IL

 

[beretta bry]

Gene, do you feel that those of us who attend trap shoots in IL would have any effect if we called? As you said, these events also effect others outside of the state AND it will effect their tourism......I would think they would want to consider that and the shear #'s should speak to them. I am sure they noticed a difference in their $'s in August. I know we are planning at this time to make the IL state shoot as well.....might effect our decision about which states to attend for sure if this thing goes thru. Just a thought. If it would help....who or which Senators should be called? Money is pretty much the only thing that speaks in these matters any more. I would also think that local merchants in Sparta and the surrounding communities should be notified to call their senators....it may certainly effect their bottom line as well......Bunker Hill area too.

Lorna Hull

 

[Roger IL]

Lorna, it sure would not hurt a thing if out of staters called and expressed their thoughts...........Roger

 

[Scott Thompson]

Linda Holmes could be a real problem although she just barely won that seat she did so on a slanderous "I'll help the little guy fight back against the big bad corporations" campaign. She came across to me as a Daley Democrat at the time of the election.

It is very important for those of us in her district, which covers a lot of gun friendly people here in Oswego and Kendall county, to let her know that we do not let Chicago speak for us.

Please, please call her. It is a long shot but it's all we have.

--Scott T

 

[gbatch]

Lorna:
I agree with Roger. Call some State Senators even if you live out of state. Tell them the 'exemption' that's in the bill doesn't prevent people from not coming to Illinois to shoot. Tell them if the bill passes you won't come and you'll advise all your friends not to come.

There is a House version of the bill. I forget the bill #. I think, however, the real action on this is in the Senate.

Gene Batchelar
Wheaton, IL

 

[rodbuster]

I have called Linda Holmes office and could not get a straight answer out of the lady who I talked to. All she would tell me was "the senator has not looked at the amendment to the bill". I asked twice if she was for the bill or against it, and I got the same answer both times. I will call her office again on monday and see what happens( there is probably no one around on the weekend?). If anyone has any ideas I am all ears. Thank you , Rodbuster.

 

[W.P.T.]

When I was a resident of Illinois I wrote to and called every Politician I could think of in the States listed Politicians ... I talked to Committemen, State Senators, Aldermen, Judges, County Sheriffs, and even got to talk to the then Governor at one time ... I will send an E Mail and have those in my family who still reside there do the same, hope this helps more than anything I have done in the past has ... The Democratic Organization usually has an Agenda and sooner or later they get things their way, in this case I hope its much later ... WPT ... (YAC) ... Former resident of the State of Illinois ...

 

[shotgunfun]

Roger, I was using my son's computer before.........thus the name change......anyway, I wrote the governor last night. I mentioned that I planned to take not one, but three trips into IL in this year alone. I mentioned that not only Sparta would be effected but also the Bunker Hill area, the St. Louis area etc. I talked about the tax dollars they had already spent and are continuing to spend to build and make Sparta happen and how many people attended the Grand American last year and the economic growth that means to IL, not only the Sparta area. I also mentioned that should this bill pass, all of that could change with the stroke of a pen. I don't know, but assumed he will have the final stroke to put this thing thru or veto it? If I need to write someone else, I will. This does not just affect IL, it affects us all. If this thing goes thru, who knows which state is next........have to work to stop these things at the ground level.

let me know.

Lorna

 

[gbatch]

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