iGold 2013 pics

[Trent]

Illinois gun owners turned out en mass today.

From the pre-march rally; Otis McDonald of McDonald V. Chicago fame giving a little speech. Also on the stage was Mary Shepard of Shepard v. Madigan fame.

Both got several standing ovations to a packed house when they spoke.



My 15 year old shaggy haired son (who DOES have a valid Firearm Owners ID card) was excused from high school for the day so he could accompany dad on what I called.. a "lesson in Civics."

(I didn't give the high school principal a choice in the matter, I was quite clear with him that the absence will be excused as we had meetings scheduled with state representatives and senators.)



I was also very excited to get moving.



As we approached the capitol on the march, the chants grew a lot louder. Someone (namely, me) yelled out a couple times "Here we come, Madigan!", and "Can you hear me NOW, Madigan?"



I was still having fun.



We were towards the front, the parade was nearly a mile long. Thousands and thousands of gun owners were present, despite freezing temps and high wind; not to mention, a severe snowstorm blanketing half the state the night before resulting in cancelled buses/etc.



At the end of the march, I planted my feet on the capitol grounds. Loudspeakers were still going full bore from the organizers "MAKE THEM HEAR YOU INSIDE! CONCEALED CARRY NOW!"



I stopped by and visited Representative Sacia after dropping off my cards at my reps. He is a profoundly cool guy.



Also paid Representative Brandon Phelps a visit to thank him personally for being such a die-hard pro-gun activist. He's gone toe to toe with Chicago anti-gunners for years now and deserves all the thanks he can get.



All in all a great day, Illinois gun owners turned out in force and PACKED the capitol building.

 

[Warners]

Great job, Trent, and THANKS for going! I got a disappointing call this morning from Don at ISRA to let me know that my bus, and some others, were not going to be able to make it due to the weather. Wow....so I didn't make it, but I had the day off at least. So I went to the range, but I would have rather been there with you to demonstrate, believe me. I have NO idea if my bus fare will be refunded. Anyway, THANK YOU, and thanks to ALL of the good people who went there today. I appreciate you, as should all gun owners.

Warner

 

[hey_poolboy]

Awesome pics man! So bummed that I couldn't make it this year.

I am, however, happy that my representation is pretty well on our side. Even the one with the D after his name.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[sleepyone]

Great job by Trent, his son and all the others who were able to make the event. Y'all are an inspiration to many.

 

[Trent]

You could tell the pro-gun from the anti-gun reps.

You could see the pro-gun reps. I walked right in to Sacia's office and said "I'm not from your district, but I wanted to drop by and tell you that you're doing a hell of a good job, and you have my support."

Meanwhile all you saw of the anti-gun reps were their secretaries.

Except for Madigan's office. There you saw the secretary, AFTER you were allowed in by the state and capitol police that were surrounding his office.... for some odd reason, I guess he deserved extra security.

I also saw capitol security guards posted outside of a couple of reps offices from Crook County, as well as the senate leader.

But, the trip was worth it, to meet with the people pushing for restoration of our rights, and protection of our rights.

Rep Jim Sacia is an old war horse, the man was in the US Army from 1962 to 1965, Army national guard from '65 to '69. He served as a police officer for two years from 67 to 69, before joining the FBI and serving as a Special Agent from 1969 to 1997.

Why he got in to politics? Ask him sometime.

Another rep I visited with was Sommer, he is in a neighboring district to mine, wanted to thank him for supporting our interests. Explained to him that my business resides in his district, therefore I have interest in how he votes, to represent my employee's abilities to carry firearms in my office, and to and from work. Told him that as long as he continues to represent the interests of them, he'd have my support as a business owner. I confirmed he's 100% on our side.

Finally, Brandon Phelps. Man he welcomed gun owners in to his office with open arms. A great guy! I've listened to him debate anti-gunners via live feeds on the house floor and in committee many, many times. The guy is the rock-star of pro-gun politics in Illinois. Him and Sacia make a heck of a 1-2 combination when grilling anti-gun logic (or lack thereof!!!)

I was wanting to visit some of the anti-gun reps just to give them my .02... but I couldn't find any in their offices.

 

[Trent]

Oh, and I thanked all the secretaries I ran across. Those ladies have been working their backsides off taking phone calls, e-mails, and letters from pro-gun constituents!!!!

 

[Warners]

Exactly the same deal as last year....all the anti's hiding under their desks. Pitiful. If you're going to take a position, at least answer to the people who pay your salary when they want to talk to you. Pathetic. Not that I'd expect anything different.....

Warner

 

[Trent]

Haha Phelps commented on that when I was in his office.

"It should be against the law to ignore your constituents."

Or something to that effect.

He's good people.

 

[C0untZer0]

My daughter shown in the bottom of this Chicago Tribune pic, holding the sign "Life Saver".

 

[C0untZer0]

I either saw Lt Gov Sheila Simon in the hall - or her body double.

She wasn't stopping to talk to all the gold hats though - she was on the move.

 

[Akita1]

Awesome posts & pics guys - thanks for sharing!