Second Amendment Freedom Rally in CHICAGO!

Don Gwinn · June 19, 2008, 11:45 PM

(I'm looking for a charter bus going to Chicago that day from Springfield. If I don't find one, I'll look into chartering one myself. The cost per person shouldn't be bad, but if you have any interest in riding along let me know ASAP.)

If you're from Illinois, and you're even curious about gun rights or concealed carry--even if you're pretty sure you're against the idea--you owe it to yourself to get to Chicago on July 11th. We had somewhere between 2000-2700 in Springfield for IGOLD this year, and it was damn impressive. We need more than that in Chicago. If you live north of I-80 in Illinois and you're tired of having your rights trampled, this is a no-brainer. If you're from "down here" in the rest of the state, understand that Chicago is the political and economic center of this state. There are twice as many voters in the Chicago area as there are in the rest of the state combined! That means we need Chicago. We CANNOT afford to concede Chicago to the anti-liberty bunch anymore. Come join us and make history.

I know for certain my whole clan will be there, from mom and dad to the twins to little baby Sean (or, as we call him, Bam-Bam.)

TheBluesMan · June 20, 2008, 06:50 AM

Good luck with this, Don. I hope you get a ton of people.

applesanity · June 20, 2008, 08:12 AM

Oh, Suzanna Hupp will be there. That's awesome. I can't go, but it's nice to see such a rally in Chicago. Now if we can start one up in DC....

Will this be a rally for the choir (no offense intended) or one that reaches out to a city that basically has very little in the way of gun rights?

Sometimes I forget that messaging with people on TFL is not the real world. Most people I know don't even think much about 2A (economy, gas, Iraq, mortgages, etc).

bikerbill · June 20, 2008, 09:14 AM

Did you invite da mayor? :barf:

Bob1911 · June 20, 2008, 08:22 PM

OK. Where in Chicago and what time etc?

TheBluesMan · June 20, 2008, 09:49 PM

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24308198@N03/2596369800/

NukemJim · June 23, 2008, 05:32 AM

If more lead time were to be given I (and others IMHO ) would be more likely to be able to make it.

I appreciate the orginazation and effort, (IGOLD this year was GREAT

) and am glad that the fight is being taken to Chi (Let's see if the media ignore us again)

I will try but I cannot afford to lose my job.(Which will happen if I call in sick and am seen at a gun rally.

)

NukemJim

Don Gwinn · July 7, 2008, 12:41 PM

Bump for the link to the official website: http://www.chicagorally.isra.org

Sorry guys, I lost track of this thread somehow in the press. We will be meeting in front of the James R. Thompson Center at 100 W. Randolph St.--right at the corner of Clark and Randolph. It's only a few blocks from Union Station, so Amtrak and Metra trains are probably your best bet to get there. My family and I will be driving in, but we're going to park at the Field Museum early in the morning, walk over, and then walk back to enjoy the museum when the rally cleanup is over.

If you can help out as a marshal, I can give you a free hat and possibly chocolate-chip cookies. Shoot me an email at [email protected] if you want to help.

I certainly understand that more lead time would have been great, but it's really pretty remarkable how quickly this was put together. ISRA wanted to capitalize on the timing of the Heller decision to strike while the iron was hot, and the event wasn't even conceived until right around the time of IGOLD (which was in mid-March.)
We had to keep the thing under wraps because we didn't want to announce it and then have a permit fail to come through or an insurance payment not be accepted--not that such a thing could happen in Chicago. It's my impression that Da Mayor's office didn't know the event was in the works until it was announced, and his people don't directly control the Thompson Center because it's state property. Believe me, it was frustrating keeping it under wraps, but it might not have come off at all otherwise.

Oh, and Da Mayor can see the Thompson Center's plaza from his building, so if he's at work on a Friday, he should know we're there.

The Governor has an office in the Thompson Center itself, but I don't know whether he personally works there--and I doubt he'd be caught dead in an office on a Friday anyway. Most of his department heads are supposed to commute between Chicago and Springfield anyway, so they work three-day weeks and travel on Mondays and Fridays, just like the state legislature.

June 19, 2008, 11:45 PM	#1
Don Gwinn Staff Emeritus Join Date: March 9, 2000 Location: Virden, IL Posts: 5,917	Second Amendment Freedom Rally in CHICAGO! (I'm looking for a charter bus going to Chicago that day from Springfield. If I don't find one, I'll look into chartering one myself. The cost per person shouldn't be bad, but if you have any interest in riding along let me know ASAP.) If you're from Illinois, and you're even curious about gun rights or concealed carry--even if you're pretty sure you're against the idea--you owe it to yourself to get to Chicago on July 11th. We had somewhere between 2000-2700 in Springfield for IGOLD this year, and it was damn impressive. We need more than that in Chicago. If you live north of I-80 in Illinois and you're tired of having your rights trampled, this is a no-brainer. If you're from "down here" in the rest of the state, understand that Chicago is the political and economic center of this state. There are twice as many voters in the Chicago area as there are in the rest of the state combined! That means we need Chicago. We CANNOT afford to concede Chicago to the anti-liberty bunch anymore. Come join us and make history. I know for certain my whole clan will be there, from mom and dad to the twins to little baby Sean (or, as we call him, Bam-Bam.) __________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don Gwinn: Chicago Gun Rights Examiner

June 20, 2008, 06:50 AM	#2
TheBluesMan Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 15, 1999 Location: Ohio Posts: 7,558	Good luck with this, Don. I hope you get a ton of people. __________________ -Dave Miller ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ! NRA Certified Instructor: Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Home Firearms Safety, Personal Protection. Tick-off Obama - Join the NRA Today - Save $10

June 20, 2008, 08:12 AM	#3
applesanity Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2007 Location: Commonwealth of Virginia Posts: 1,134	Oh, Suzanna Hupp will be there. That's awesome. I can't go, but it's nice to see such a rally in Chicago. Now if we can start one up in DC.... Will this be a rally for the choir (no offense intended) or one that reaches out to a city that basically has very little in the way of gun rights? Sometimes I forget that messaging with people on TFL is not the real world. Most people I know don't even think much about 2A (economy, gas, Iraq, mortgages, etc). __________________ "SED QUIS CUSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODES?" alizarian web design "Up men and to your posts! Don't forget today that you are from Old Virginia!"

June 20, 2008, 09:14 AM	#4
bikerbill Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2007 Location: Lago Vista TX Posts: 2,425	Did you invite da mayor? :barf: __________________ "The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants." Albert Camus

June 20, 2008, 08:22 PM	#5
Bob1911 Member Join Date: April 15, 2007 Location: Matteson, Illanoy Posts: 59	OK. Where in Chicago and what time etc? __________________ Molon Labe, Bob Russell John 3:16/Infidel Grand Parent

June 20, 2008, 09:49 PM	#6
TheBluesMan Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 15, 1999 Location: Ohio Posts: 7,558	http://www.flickr.com/photos/24308198@N03/2596369800/ __________________ -Dave Miller ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ! NRA Certified Instructor: Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Home Firearms Safety, Personal Protection. Tick-off Obama - Join the NRA Today - Save $10

June 23, 2008, 05:32 AM	#7
NukemJim Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2002 Posts: 287	If more lead time were to be given I (and others IMHO ) would be more likely to be able to make it. I appreciate the orginazation and effort, (IGOLD this year was GREAT) and am glad that the fight is being taken to Chi (Let's see if the media ignore us again) I will try but I cannot afford to lose my job.(Which will happen if I call in sick and am seen at a gun rally.) NukemJim __________________ "Half of being smart is knowing what you are dumb at" "Guns shoot bullets. People shoot people."

July 7, 2008, 12:41 PM	#8
Don Gwinn Staff Emeritus Join Date: March 9, 2000 Location: Virden, IL Posts: 5,917	Bump for the link to the official website: http://www.chicagorally.isra.org Sorry guys, I lost track of this thread somehow in the press. We will be meeting in front of the James R. Thompson Center at 100 W. Randolph St.--right at the corner of Clark and Randolph. It's only a few blocks from Union Station, so Amtrak and Metra trains are probably your best bet to get there. My family and I will be driving in, but we're going to park at the Field Museum early in the morning, walk over, and then walk back to enjoy the museum when the rally cleanup is over. If you can help out as a marshal, I can give you a free hat and possibly chocolate-chip cookies. Shoot me an email at [email protected] if you want to help. I certainly understand that more lead time would have been great, but it's really pretty remarkable how quickly this was put together. ISRA wanted to capitalize on the timing of the Heller decision to strike while the iron was hot, and the event wasn't even conceived until right around the time of IGOLD (which was in mid-March.) We had to keep the thing under wraps because we didn't want to announce it and then have a permit fail to come through or an insurance payment not be accepted--not that such a thing could happen in Chicago. It's my impression that Da Mayor's office didn't know the event was in the works until it was announced, and his people don't directly control the Thompson Center because it's state property. Believe me, it was frustrating keeping it under wraps, but it might not have come off at all otherwise. Oh, and Da Mayor can see the Thompson Center's plaza from his building, so if he's at work on a Friday, he should know we're there. The Governor has an office in the Thompson Center itself, but I don't know whether he personally works there--and I doubt he'd be caught dead in an office on a Friday anyway. Most of his department heads are supposed to commute between Chicago and Springfield anyway, so they work three-day weeks and travel on Mondays and Fridays, just like the state legislature. __________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don Gwinn: Chicago Gun Rights Examiner