[CC NEWS] ISRA Donates $98K to Gun Control Organization

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WAGCEVP

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From: John <[email protected]>
To: CC NEWS
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: [CC NEWS] ISRA Donates $98K to Gun Control Organization
Attachments: unknown-167 B
ISRA PAYS ICHV $98K

It is no longer just a court order. The Illinois State Rifle Association has paid $98K of our money to the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. This makes the ISRA the single largest cash contributor to the number one enemy of gun rights in Illinois: The ICHV.

BACKROUND: Previously the ISRA agreed they had indeed infringed on the ICHV tradmark in a big way. U.S. Judge James Zagel then ordered the ISRA to pay the legal fees of the ICHV. The question then was who would pay? Insurance? The indivduals involved? Or the ISRA?

SUMMARY: According to the report below the insurance company for the ISRA would have paid, but only on the condition that ISRA Second VP and NRA Lobbyist Todd Vandermyde be booted permenantly off the board. However as Todd Vandermyde is the heir apparent to the throne at the ISRA, if and when current ISRA President "For Life" Richard Pearson gives up the ole' ghost, having insurance pay was not an option. Further it is unlikely Todd has $98K in his wallet.

Nope, I'm afraid the members paid. At $20 a year dues you do the math how many members funded the ICHV instead of the ISRA. It will make you sick. Worse, the $98K is just legal fees for the ICHV. On top of that you have the ISRA legal bills so the amount spent could easily be double. Imagine what that kind of money could have done to get a concealed carry law passed?

So far no one is calling for the ouster of any responsiblie parties. The ISRA board has taken no action against any ISRA Officer from President Pearson on down. I suspect they don't want the ISRA membership to even know about this. And the members won't know about it unless YOU TAKE ACTION.

Now Listen Up: You can keep this a secret like the ISRA wants (you will not read of this in the Illinois Shooter) or you can pass this around. Not just to your gun lists, but to your local press as well. Hopefully the ISRA board members (and there are some good ones) will then clean house before it's too late. To make it easy here are the contacts the media would want to speak with if they take an interest:

Richard Pearson, ISRA President, (815) 635-3198
Todd Vandermyde, ISRA Second VP, [email protected]
Thomas Mennard, Exec Director, ICHV, (312) 341-0939
John Boch, Editor for GunNEWS, (217) 649-3702
John Birch, President, Concealed Carry, Inc., (630) 660-3935

To complain to the NRA you can contact our state representative, Michael Huber at [email protected]

If you pay dues to the ISRA you can complain to them at (815) 635-3198 or [email protected] and make sure to CC [email protected] so I can make sure you email is read by other ISRA board members.


ISRA PAYS HUGE $98,000 JUDGEMENT TO ICHV
Refuses insurance company payoff contingent upon removal of Vandermyde, Flanagan from Board

Chatsworth, IL (GunNews) The Illinois State Rifle Association Second Vice-President Todd Vandermyde and former director Peter Flanagan had a good idea when they registered a new, gun-rights friendly "Illinois Coalition Against Handgun Violence, Inc." with the Secretary of State's office in 2002. The "old" ICHV had failed to properly renew its corporate registration with the State of Illinois in 2001 and as such, the 25-year-old corporation which lobbied tirelessly against civil rights technically no longer existed.

Problems arose in May and June 2002 when the "new" coalition with Vandermyde as its spokesman issued press releases claiming the ICHV now supported gun rights legislation in Illinois.

At this point, ICHV's attorneys became involved claiming trademark infringement and sought a restraining order from federal court barring further releases. A short time later, the ISRA agreed to stop using ICHV's name and in return, the old ICHV would not sue the ISRA.

The matter of legal fees incurred by the old ICHV remained, and ICHV sought reimbursement of roughly $210,000 spent on lawyers. U.S. District Judge James Zagel ruled in March 2003 that the ISRA would be liable for $98,013.20.

The ISRA allegedly characterized the registration of the new "ICHV" as "as overly cute joke."

A cute joke, stupid stunt or waste of money?

The Illinois State Rifle Association, it has been reported by sources close to the ISRA leadership, sought to have
its insurance company pick up the tab for the wreckless misadventure of two of its inner circle, Vandermyde and Flanagan, as well as Flanagan's wife, Medina.

The insurance company allegedly agreed to pay the award, our source says, if Vandermyde and Flanagan were both barred from holding any position of leadership in ISRA in perpetuity.

ISRA's President Richard Pearson, apparently with the blessing of the ISRA's Board of Directors, chose to pay the award from ISRA's assets rather than remove Vandermyde as Second Vice-President.

We have confirmed that the ISRA did in fact pay the judgement to the ICHV in September with a check drawn from its money market fund.

The ISRA's business office and President Richard Pearson were each contacted by GunNews for comment. Neither responded to comment on the allegations.

GunNews was unable to uncover how much additional money was spent in legal costs incurred by the ISRA defending the organization and Mssrs. Vandermyde and Flanagan for their "overly cute joke."

============================================

John Boch
[email protected]
Certified Pistol and Personal Protection Instructor

Vice-President, Champaign Co. Rifle Assoc.
Editor, GunNews Magazine

Visit http://www.gunssavelife.com
 
Hmm,

I remember when a few on ourside managed to nab some corp names of the loyal opposition.

Sounds like they would have been fine if they just held the name and left well enough alone - but someone had to push it and start talking in their name.

My, what a $300 talk with an attorney could have saved them.
 
Yep, they never should've attempted to pass themselves off as the antis.

However, this worked out for the Scientologists when they took over the cult awareness network (?) and made it a front for their brainwashing.
 
On the one hand, it's true they bungled the thing. I know ISRA has lawyers, so why weren't they consulted?

On the other hand, I know that this sort of thing has got to be exposed or people will never demand better, and gun owners will continue to be "represented" by an organization to which fewer than ten percent belong.

But on the third hand, I just can't get behind the crowing at the dismal failure of a pro-rights organization, no matter how much the ISRA has disappointed me over the years. We should talk about this, yes. But John's just a wee bit too happy it happened. That's precisely the attitude he and people like John Boch (and, hell, myself) hate so much about the ISRA; the idea that they'd rather see RKBA fail than see someone else get the credit for success.
 
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