The gun-grabbers are going all out with HB6008 in hopes of dealing a fatal blow to hunting and target shooting here in Illinois.
Source: IL Bill Would Ban Hunting, Gun Ranges, & Walking Your Dog
IL Bill Would Ban Hunting, Gun Ranges, & Walking Your Dog
February 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Chasing Your Blues Coyotes Away
March 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Don’t like those coyotes hanging around your town? One Illinois town has devised a, “high-intensity hazing techniques by trained personnel.” Once it was suggested that people be allowed to shoot paint balls at the wild dogs, but that, I guess, would be deemed unruly and probably inhumane.
Hazing is the term they are using, a form of animal harassment or abuse if you will.<<<Read More>>>
Illinois Receives RMEF Hunting Heritage Grants Thanks to Native Son
August 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Press Release from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
MISSOULA, Mont.—The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation awarded $18,205 in funding to Illinois for a series of hunting heritage and conservation education outreach projects.
“Much of this year’s funding for these projects is directly attributed to the late Bob Torstenson, an Illinois native,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “He had a passion for elk hunting, the outdoors and especially for introducing new hunters to hunting. These grants will extend and strengthen hunting traditions to the next generation in Illinois.”
RMEF established the Torstenson Family Endowment in Bob Torstenson’s name as a result of the sale of the Torstenson Wildlife Center, a 93,403 acre ranch in west-central New Mexico gifted to the RMEF by Torstenson in 2002. Torstenson owned Duo-FAST Corporation until its sale to Illinois Toolwork in 1998. Born in Evanston, he last lived in Pecatonica.
The 2014 grants will positively affect Cook, Fulton, Henry, Jackson, Mason, Sangamon and Tazewell Counties. There are also two projects of statewide interest.
Allen also thanked RMEF volunteers in Illinois and across the nation for raising funds through banquets, membership drives and other activities to further RMEF’s mission of ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage.
RMEF grants will fund the following projects, listed by county:
Cook County—Provide funding from the Torstenson Family Endowment (TFE) to assist Hubbard High School in the purchase of bows, arrows and targets from the Illinois Conservation Foundation as it establishes a Junior ROTC National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP).
Fulton County—Provide funding for youth to learn how to handle firearms in a fun and safe environment with the launching of the Fulton County 4-H Shooting Sports Program.
Henry County—Provide sponsorship of the Illowa Fellowship of Christian Athletes youth shotgun team.
Jackson County—Provide sponsorship of the Sesser-Valier Outdoorsmen Club 2014 Walden Solo Camping Experience which gives junior members a weekend of self-challenge and personal introspection through solo camping and participation in a high ropes challenge course.
Mason County—Provide funding to purchase ammunition for Mason County 4-H Shooting Sports which recently began offering air rifle, archery and shotgun instruction to youth ages 8-18 years.
Sangamon County—Provide funding and RMEF volunteer efforts to instruct and introduce school age youth with the Edgewood Scholastic Trap Team to shooting sports through the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation; and provide funding for NASP at Washington Middle School to educate archers about conservation, bowhunting, camping, canoeing, fishing, hunting and hiking.
Tazewell County—Provide funding for Tazewell County 4-H Shooting Sports which offers archery, air rifle, and shotgun courses to youth during a spring and fall session each year.
Statewide—Use TFE funding to design and furbish an education trailer containing fishing rods and reels, tents, a cook stove, microscopes, binoculars, GPS units for geocaching, a generator, lights, a TV for seminars, tanned hides, skulls and other items to be taken to schools and events statewide to help teach youth about the outdoors; and provide sponsorship of the 25th annual University of Illinois Forest Resource Center’s “Stewardship Week.” The event offers instruction to nearly 1,300 children about forestry, wildlife management, invasive plants and insects, natural heritage, fisheries, soil conservation, wetlands restoration, bird migration, tree identification and much more. RMEF sponsored the event the past 17 years.
RMEF volunteers and staff select hunting heritage projects to receive funding.
In its first year in existence in 2013, the Torstenson Family Endowment provided nearly a million dollars to accelerate mission priorities. TFE funding is only used to further RMEF’s core mission programs of permanent land protection, habitat stewardship, elk restoration and hunting heritage.
Make Sure Chicago Gets All Them Bears, Wolves and Lions
June 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Senseless predator protection continues in Illinois where lawmakers have approved adding bears, wolves and mountain lions to a list of protected species. Why? Perhaps one sentence in this article better explains why: “Natural Resources Defense Council officials say the measure presents a smarter plan for dealing with these animals because residents can currently kill them with no questions asked.”
Ceding Away Rights in the Name of Public Safety
January 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
My good friends at the National Center for Public Policy Research put out a press release today about the state of Illinois’ seeming hypocrisy and double standards when applying law mandating the use and/or need of producing government identification.
As a whole, I support the policies and efforts of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) but today I have to take issue with some of the argument used by the Center’s Project 21 representative, Stacey Swimp.
At issue is the fact that the state of Illinois now requires government endorsed identification when purchasing certain products, among them drain cleaner. Swimp’s beef comes from the fact that Illinois has rejected previous bills attempting to require some kind of photo identification in order to vote.
“If people must provide a government-issued ID to unclog their drains, they certainly should do the same for the very important task of selecting their elected leaders.”
The point is well taken and I might have left it at that and made some small remark wondering why it is even necessary to require anybody to produce a government-approved ID card to buy Drano?
To bolster the argument, Swimp later says the following:
“Having been certified as a pesticide applicator in the past and knowing the harm they can inflict if used maliciously, I understand why some might want to have a means of identifying who obtains them and for what reasons. The same would apply to guns, fertilizers, over-the-counter medications that can make illicit drugs and — in this case — acids and other dangerous chemicals. So it’s only logical that people who have these concerns would also want similar identification rules to prevent vote fraud.”
I might understand that “some” people might want to regulate breathing of humans but that is not a valid reason to require them to obtain a government permit to do so. It’s easy to spout off about those “reasonable” regulations because we “understand why some”, but how is any of this constitutional and what kind of trouble has this country gotten itself into because we cede away our rights in the name of public safety because “some people might want”?
I’m not suggesting that I think Swimp is advocating for tougher regulations on buying Drano, guns, fertilizers, etc. I have no idea of his position on these issues. It’s simply the fact that he is using defective logic to make a point.
Isn’t it about time that people in this country begin demanding back their rights? Please show me in the constitution where it is “reasonable” that I cede rights. And while your there show me where it is required that I obtain a government approved ID card to buy and sell.
What’s next? The mark of the beast in order that anyone can buy or sell? You keep giving away your freedom by swallowing the Kool-Aid about public safety and national security and we won’t even be having this conversation.
Tom Remington
