Pro-gun Resolution In Pike County Illinois

[ExtremeShot]

Check out this email I got today. Please pass this along to anyone in the area that can attend.

PRO-GUN RESOLUTION

The County Board of Pike County, Illinois, has called a public

meeting to consider a resolution which would state that the

people of Pike County, Illinois, consider any legislation passed

by the Illinois State Legislature that would infringe upon the

Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms to be unconstitutional

and beyond lawful Legislative Authority.

Such a resolution, if enacted by a County Government, would be

unprecedented in the history of the United States.

The resolution has strong support among members of the Pike

County Board. The resolution states that it is being enacted

because, "The Pike County Board being elected by the People of

Pike County is duly sworn by Oath of Office to uphold the United

States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of

Illinois."

The members of the Pike County Board ask all interested citizens

to attend this Public Meeting and demonstrate their support for

the enactment of this resolution.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, April 24th, at

7:00pm, in the 1st Floor courtroom of the Pike County Courthouse

in Pittsfield, Illinois.

All members of PASA, whether Pike County residents or not, are

urged to attend this historic event, and express their support

for the courageous action of the members of the Pike County

Board.

I hope to see you there. With everybody you can bring.

P.R. Metcalf

President

Pike-Adams Sportsmen's Alliance

[chuckbradley]

This would be great. Huge! My customers in Illinois say that most of Illinois are progun, except Chicago and Chicago runs the whole state. Its about time they stand up to them. Maybe more will follow.

[ExtremeShot]

Here's the latest:

The following two news items may be of interest. The first is

from the national "Outdoor Wire," a news service subscribed to

by over 10,000 people in the outdoor industry.

The second is from the front page of yesterday's Quincy

Herald-Whig.

----------------------------------

Pike County, Illinois Votes "No"

Pike County is renowned for some of the best whitetail and wild

turkey hunting in Illinois. That deserved reputation has turned

hunting into a significant revenue source for the county and its

residents.

A threat to that revenue may cause Pittsfield, the county seat,

to someday be known as the spot where a quiet groundswell of

protest against the growing proliferation of firearms

restrictions finally erupted into grassroots action.

On Tuesday evening the Pike County Board citing the Second

Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, passed a

resolution saying no to any state legislation limiting the right

to keep and bear arms would be recognized in Pike County.

Their resolution minces no words:

"Now, Therefore, It Be And Is Hereby Resolved, that the people

of Pike County, Illinois, do oppose the enactment of any

legislation that would infringe upon the Right of the People to

Keep and Bear Arms, and deem such laws to be Unconstitutional

and beyond lawful Legislative Authority."

In short, no state law placing any limitations on firearms will

be valid in Pike County.

This action is aimed squarely at a measure currently being

proposed by the state legislature. This proposed state

legislation would outlaw semiautomatic firearms and ban .50

caliber firearms (including muzzleloaders). It is being

championed by two Chicago residents: Mayor Richard M. Daley and

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

It may be popular in Chicago political circles, but it's not

going to win Blagojevich any votes in Pike County.

One of the two Pike County Board Members who sponsored the

Resolution, Robert Kenedy, says he hopes the measure would "be

the spark that lights a cannon heard all across the United

States."

Co-sponsor Mark Mountain said: "We have to stand up. We have to

voice our opinion. As an individual, it doesn't mean much. As a

county, it means more. As three or four counties, it means a

lot."

In recognition of the resolution's importance, the Tuesday

meeting was reportedly the most heavily attended public meeting

in county history. Residents overflowed the courtroom, spilling

out into the courthouse rotunda.

The measure also had extensive public discussion. At one point,

a reluctant commissioner raised concerns that perhaps the

measure was a "political hot button" and not something in which

a county government should involve itself.

That drew an emotional response from one resident:

"This proposed legislation would greatly harm the citizens of

this county, and we believe the members of our County Board are

bound by the oaths of office to speak for us on this issue.

"The issue here is not politics, the issue is freedom. Freedom

began in this nation more than 200 years ago, when small groups

of people like us, in towns even smaller than ours, gathered

together to tell the King who tried to rule them from a huge

city an ocean away, 'Enough is enough!' Freedom will only

survive today if we have the courage to do the same."

In closing, he offered: "In this room tonight we are not

conservatives; we are not liberals. In this room tonight we are

not Democrats; we are not Republicans. In this room tonight we

are Americans."

The standing ovation he received was apparently enough to

convince the Commission to overwhelmingly pass the measure.

Pike County's resolution may, indeed, be unprecedented in modern

history. Our research (albeit brief at this point) has yet to

produce another instance of a county government having voted to

refuse to enforce proposed state statutes it viewed to be in

conflict with federal law.

And the Pike County Resolution minces no words as to why they

felt the action necessary: "the People of Pike County, Illinois,

derive great economic benefit from all safe forms of firearms

recreation, hunting, and shooting conducted within Pike County

using all types of firearms allowable under the United States

Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Illinois."

The resolution also cites the Commission's sworn duty to uphold

the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State

of Illinois, saying the proposed legislation currently under

consideration by the Illinois State Legislature would "infringe

the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms, and would ban the

possession and use of firearms now employed by individual

citizens in Pike County, Illinois, for defense of Life, Liberty,

and Property, and would ban the possession and use of firearms

now employed for safe forms of firearms recreation, hunting, and

shooting conducted within Pike County, Illinois.

In Canada, several provincial governments flatly refused to

enforce revisions to the country's firearms registry. The

provincial governments said the changers were not only ill

advised, but unenforceable. Eventually their resistance became a

major political factor, turning out the liberal ruling party and

electing a conservative government that has systematically

dismantled the registry.

The decision in Pike County was not one that was lightly made,

nor considered. Officials had carried on quiet talks with

outside Illinois before Tuesday evening's vote. We have learned

those talks have led other local governments to begin

considering similar measures as a means of expressing their

displeasure with attempts to legislate firearms out of the hands

of law-abiding citizens.

Individuals involved in those conversations speak of the

frustration of a large, and formerly quiet group of citizens who

feel the will of the majority of the people is being ignored by

legislators.

Should Pike County's resolution catch on across Illinois and

correspondingly across America, this single action taken by a

small county government may, indeed, ignite a chain of similar

actions across the country that serve notice that the majority

opinion of Americans heartland regarding firearms will no longer

be ignored.

We will keep you posted.

------------------------------------------------------

Gun control laws not welcome in Pike County

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Mail to a friend Printer Friendly Version

By Deborah Gertz Husar

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

PITTSFIELD, Ill. - The Pike County Board adopted a resolution

Tuesday opposing any legislation that infringes on the right to

keep and bear arms.

"What we are trying to do here is protect rights we already

have," board member Robert Kenady said.

A standing-room-only crowd of mostly gun enthusiasts applauded

several speakers and the 7-2 vote on the resolution, which will

be forwarded to state legislators and all other counties in

Illinois. Neighboring Brown County already has adopted a similar

resolution.

"We have to stand up," said board member Mark Mountain, who

proposed the resolution. "We have to voice our opinion. As an

individual, it doesn't mean much. As a county, it means more. As

three or four counties, it means a lot."

"You gentleman have just made history here," said Pike-Adams

Sportsmen's Alliance President Richard Metcalf.

Resolution supporters claim that pending state legislation would

ban many common firearms used for hunting and threaten rights

guaranteed under the Constitution, the enjoyment of safe forms

of firearms recreation and its economic benefits to the county.

"This is about freedom," Metcalf said. "This is not a political

issue. I'm not here as a conservative, a liberal. You're not

here as a Republican, a Democrat. We're here as Americans."

Others questioned whether the issue of gun control reached

beyond what the county should address.

"I've carried a weapon 30 years of my life, ... but I'm not sure

there's a time and place to address this issue on a county

level," said board member Mike Lord, who voted against the

resolution.

Board Chairman Scott Syrcle said the county level "is where it

starts." He said county officials are "elected to voice our

opinion to legislators for change or to keep things from

happening." He usually votes only in the case of a tie, but

wanted his vote in favor of the resolution on the record.

"You're going to ban a lot of guns if this thing happens,"

county resident Lee Ator said. "Definitely, the people of Pike

County are interested in this. Everybody's here because they're

opposed to gun legislation."

Board member Don Peebles said the county should be focusing on

other issues instead of the "hot-button, politically divisive"

issue of gun control.

"I've spent a lot of time in the last month reading House bills,

Senate bills and shell bills. Some of them I agree with. Some I

disagree with. I would have a difficult time with an

across-the-board resolution," said Peebles, who voted against

the resolution.

[Derek45]

Wow !

[Coach]

This is great to see, and I hope the attitude catches on in other places. I liked the look of that town when staying there for the nationals, and thought it was too bad it was located in such a gun unfriendly state.

[ExtremeShot]

For more information, listen to yesterday's Guntalk radio show (4/29/07). You can find it here: http://guntalk.libsyn.com

Guests include:

Mark Mountain - Pike County Board

Robert Kenady - Pike County Board

Jim Logsdon - Brown County Board

Dick Metcalf - Gun Writer

Make sure to download Part A, B, and C!

Edited May 1, 2007 by ExtremeShot

[scirocco38s]

I think that inlight of the way the people of Pike county have voiced their opinion on this subject, that Uspsa should almost guarantee at least 1 of the Nationals would be held at PASA every year (not counting single stack). It might not be popular with all of our membership, but the people of Barry and the surrounding area have always been supportive of Uspsa and the shooters in general as they realize that we bring revenue into their area.

[Bill H]

I think that inlight of the way the people of Pike county have voiced their opinion on this subject, that Uspsa should almost guarantee at least 1 of the Nationals would be held at PASA every year (not counting single stack). It might not be popular with all of our membership, but the people of Barry and the surrounding area have always been supportive of Uspsa and the shooters in general as they realize that we bring revenue into their area.

I totally agree with that. Good work guys.

[ExtremeShot]

+1

I think that inlight of the way the people of Pike county have voiced their opinion on this subject, that Uspsa should almost guarantee at least 1 of the Nationals would be held at PASA every year (not counting single stack). It might not be popular with all of our membership, but the people of Barry and the surrounding area have always been supportive of Uspsa and the shooters in general as they realize that we bring revenue into their area.

[davidball]

I think that inlight of the way the people of Pike county have voiced their opinion on this subject, that Uspsa should almost guarantee at least 1 of the Nationals would be held at PASA every year (not counting single stack). It might not be popular with all of our membership, but the people of Barry and the surrounding area have always been supportive of Uspsa and the shooters in general as they realize that we bring revenue into their area.

Amen, brutha.

[ExtremeShot]

From the Illinois Rifle Association website:

May 9, 2007 - ISRA Alert - SB1007 passes IL Senate Vote

Today Senator Kotowski's magazine ban bill passed the Senate with 31 yeas, 26 nays,

1 present and 1 not voting. This bill is headed for the house. It will probably go to an anti-gun committee so it will likely pass out of committee easily to become a floor fight.

[SRT Driver]

Too bad more counties don't think like Pike County.

The odd part about Illinois is that downstate Democrats usually vote pro 2nd amendment.

Chicago and the collar counties are a different story.