An email from the McHenry County Right to Carry Association follows, but first take a look at how an armed security guard stopped a crime in Chicago this weekend.
Happy New Year to all members of the McHenry County Right to Carry Association
This McHenry County Right to Carry Association tee shirt was found at the organization's McHenry County Fair booth.
The new year has begun and the holidays are behind us. It is our hope that 2012 will be a great year for our organization in terms growth and achieving our goal of bringing the right to carry to the state of Illinois.
We have a lot of work to do this year and we will be gearing up quickly so here are some quick updates.
Our Organization:
Our next meeting is January 12 at the Woodstock VFW 240 North Throop Street in Woodstock, Illinois and it is an important meeting and I encourage as many members to attend as possible.We will begin the meeting at 7:00pm and end promptly at 8:30pm.
The first most important item will be the election of new officers. It is important to keep the organization fresh and vital and with that is the belief that the leadership should stand for election every two years. This gives everyone in the group an opportunity to provide energy and leadership to our cause. So on January 12, 2012 we will seek nominations and cast ballots for the roles of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Any member in good standing may seek nomination and address the group regarding their plans and aspirations should they be elected.
The group will need to decide if we are once again going to sponsor a bus to the Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day in Springfield (IGOLD). We have gone for two straight years and this year will likely be very important to the outcome in Springfield and our right to carry. We will be choosing an IGOLD chairperson to head up the event. This has been a fun event and we have shared the bus with our good friends in the McHenry County Sportsman’s Association.
IGOLD will take place on Wednesday March 7, 2012. Mark that day on your calendar. If we are taking a bus we need to begin the process asap!
It is time to refresh and rebuild our webpage and we need to find a motivated individual that can place some dedicated effort into creating content and working with our webmaster to get our page into a current state. If you like to write and have an interest in this important job please come to the meeting or get in touch with me by email at mcr2ca@gmail.com. The organization has grown too large (a good thing!) for any one individual to keep all of the pieces moving so finding the right person for this role will be key.
Be sure to visit our Facebook page. You can find us by entering MCR2CA in the search box. This is a place to have real time conversation about County and State issues. So log on and join the fun. Of course be sure to remember that what is posted in cyberspace stays in cyberspace so lets be sure to keep our conversations respectful and positive. We have a great reputation in the County and State so lets keep it that way.
Our new project at gaining support of the women in McHenry county and beyond is off to a great start thanks to the core team headed by Sally Wiggins.
Those who attended the first meeting of woman wanting to be able to carry guns for self-protection.
The progress the team is making in a short time is nothing less than astounding so I encourage you to attend and find out what is going on. Women will be the key in our success.
In the last week alone the national press have reported two women who defended not just themselve but the lives of their children from attack. Illinois women deserve that same right. Now is the time for women to demand that right. Get involved with our new initiative. Gentleman the ladies in your life to get involved so they to can have the right to defend themselves.
Current Right to Carry Landscape For Illinois
Barbara Wheeler, the only Republican or Democrat running for the 64th State Representative District, talks with Anthony Lopez President of the McHenry County Sportsman's Association at the booth his group and the McHenry County Right to Carry Association sponsored at the County Fair.
As most of you know last year a Right to Carry bill was voted on in the Illinois House of Representatives and the vote fell 6 votes short of the super majority to over-ride a veto by Governor Quinn.
The vote itself was a victory as the bill got out of committee and our representatives had to take a stand. The Governor and the City of Chicago drove the effort to stop the bill.
We can be proud of our McHenry County Leaders for voting in favor of the right to carry. Clearly our efforts here in the county got results, but on a state wide scale the NRA, ISRA and IllinoisCarry took the lead in making this vote a reality.
In 2011 we also began to see changes in the attitudes of citizens of Chicago and Cook County toward the right to carry. Now that Illinois stands alone as a state in denying the right to carry to its citizens more people are asking “Why not here?”
Lou Rofrano was one manning the McHenry County Right to Carry booth at the 2010 County Fair.
Through the leadership and partnership of the Second Amendment Sisters and Cook County members of the NRA and IllinoisCarry in the African Community the momentum is changing. Just as local organization and mobilization of citizens in McHenry County changed minds on the issue, residents in Chicago and Cook County must be the ones to change the leaderrship’s attitude by demanding their right to carry.
Our good friend and partner Valinda Rowe was awarded the prestigious Grass Roots Activist of the Year by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. We congratulate her and can think of no better individual deserving of this honor.
The path to right to carry may find its way to Illinois through the courts. I encourage all members to visit the Illinois State Rifle Association home page or the IllinoisCarry Forum for complete coverage of the cases now before the courts in Illinois that will impact our right to carry.Shepard vs Madigan and Moore versus Madigan:
A hearing was held on a preliminary injunction in Moore versus Madigan on August 4, 2011. We are still waiting on a ruling from the judge.
In Shepard versus Madigan a motion was filed for a preliminary injunction but no date for a hearing has been set. The presiding judge may set a date or issue a ruling directly without a hearing. We are waiting at this time for the judge to take action.
Gun Safety
A new Crystal Lake shooting range, OnTarget, is giving discounts for memberships purchased before it opens.
It is important to note that this holiday season firearm sales were at an all time high.
This means that we have many new gun owners or individuals that are returning to the shooting sport after a long time. Our number one concern is safety.
Recently there was a tragic firearms accident reported in the Northwest Herald. An accidental discharge took the life of a young resident. It is a good time to remind ourselves the basic rules of gun safety and to remember that safe gun handling is an essential skill.
If we are going to exercise our right to own a firearm than we must take responsibility for becoming a safe and knowledgeable gun owner.
If you have just acquired your first firearm or know someone who has, or if it has been a long time since you have participated in the shooting sports please be sure to take a gun safety and basic skills class. Too often we see people who get a FOID card, buy a gun and some ammunition and then put it in a drawer, “just in case”.
Please take the training you need so that you never hurt yourself or another person accidentally. Also, should that need arise to defend yourself the proper training will prepare you to do so.
Note that there are several NRA Certified and Concealed Carry Instructors in our organization and in the McHenry County Right to Carry Association that can work with you or help you find the right instructor to match your training needs whether or not your interests are personal protection, pistol, rifle, shotgun or concealed carry permit training. Please contact us for a list of those instructors or visit the NRA website for other certified instructors in the state.
Let’s review those safety rules one more time!
- Treat all firearms as if they are loaded. (All of the time…especially when you “know” they are not loaded!)
- Always keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have made the decision to fire.
- Never point a firearm at anything you are not willing to destroy.
- Before you make a decision to fire, be sure of your target, your targets environment and other safety hazards.
*These rules are courtesy of the State of Utah Concealed Carry Training Program.
Let’s make 2012 a great year for 2nd Amendment Rights and most importantly a safe year for everyone in the shooting sports. Let me remind all of you to be sure to support the ISRA and IllinoisCarry in their efforts to bring the right to carry to Illinois.
All the best,
Lou Rofrano, President
McHenry County Right to Carry Association
Check out our web page at MCR2CA.com
People outside of law enforcement should not have a button in their pocket that means death to someone (a gun is an instrument that causes death). “Protection” is not a valid reason to allow my friends and neighbors the ability to kill by simply exercising slight finger pressure.
In a free society you have the right to disagree. Do you realize 49 of the 50 states have the right to carry?
rusrus is an idiot if they believe what they posted. If you are not armed when the caliphate comes, you are going to rue the day.
Cindy, its people like you carrying hand guns that scare the hell out of me.