Introducing Champaign County Rifle Association

October 4, 2001

"My Great Grandma Slept Safe" Maria Boch, Great Grandmother of CCRA Webmaster John Boch, stands in the Spring of 1918 near her home in Taylorville, Illinois. This is an unaltered photograph. The pistol is a Smith and Wesson Model 35 in .32 ACP.

GunNews Magazine is the monthly publication of Champaign County Rifle Association - soon to be incorporated as Guns Save Life.  The magazine devotes space to report the activities and successes this regional group and its 530+ members.  The balance of the publication contains many other original articles that would interest firearm owners anywhere.  They include topics like lawful use of deadly force, how to legally carry firearms in Illinois (including �fanny pack carry� � the de facto permit to carry in Illinois), tips on countering questionable police tactics at gun shows, how to respond to a deadly force incident, articles on shooting safety and much, much more.  Articles have regularly appeared outlining some of the United Nation�s efforts at Global Gun Control (part 1, part 2).  The rest of each issue profiles news stories on other national or international issues that affect gun owners � including controversial topics that the NRA will not touch (like this month�s story on anti-rights efforts of the Jehovah�s Witnesses).

We continue to build upon many successful activities and projects as a group � all of which are reported on in GunNews. 

We are most famous for our Burma-style highway signs that are seen throughout Illinois along Interstate highways.  Nearly 600,000 people each day read pro-rights messages typically displayed in sets of five that are clearly and easily read at highway speeds.

The signs have been profiled in many publications, netting front-page color photographs and stories in regional newspapers (an example).  The signs have been phenomenally cost effective (hundreds of sightings per penny spent over the twenty-year life), and equally effective at bypassing the major media�s refusal to promote or display pro-firearms rights messages.

Of course, we proudly publish our monthly GunNews Magazine (current issue) to our members and to those from around Illinois and the nation in back issues available on the Internet.  We regularly have fun shoots open to the public, our members volunteer at youth shooting camps, we participate in parades and we are quite active politically.  While the law prevents us from endorsing candidates, our group has successfully worked to see that 100% of our local state officials and judges that have been elected in the last several years are very pro-rights.  Our members worked hard for and shared our Burma-engineering secrets with (our new Congressman) Tim Johnson�s campaign.  Johnson�s campaign has even allowed our group to display our pro-gun messages on their sign locations until the next election.  Johnson narrowly won over his opponent who told the media, �I think owning a gun is a privilege we ought to give to people in limited doses.� 

We have one required ingredient to all of our activities: fun.  We even had fun last year when we counter-demonstrated (our website � newspaper stories 1 2 3) against the local chapter of the Million Mom March in their local �protest.�  We humiliated them to such a degree that their local chapter has all but collapsed and they did not even consider holding an encore demonstration this year.

If you feel good reading about successful pro-firearms rights activism like this on a regular basis, subscribe to GunNews.  It�s currently only $20 for a two-year subscription for the hard-copy (to cover printing and mailing costs).  Send your check made out to Guns Save Life to P.O. Box 51, Savoy, Illinois 61874.  We will reciprocate complimentary subscriptions to similar publications from other groups like ours.

We have also recently had several sites offered to us on very busy Interstates in Illinois, but a lack of funds is has put the construction of new sets on hold. If someone out there would like to sponsor one or more sets (at $500 per set) of these coming signs, we'll be more than happy to credit you and / or link you on our Burma sponsors page!

We meet the second Tuesday of each month at the Jolly Roger Restaurant in Urbana, Illinois.  Dinner and conversation begin at 6:00pm and the meeting begins at 7:00pm.  Each month we have typically two or more guest speakers. 

For further information about our organization, GunNews, potential land sites for signs along Interstates or directions to the meeting, email John Boch or visit our website.

Who We Are

We are the Champaign County Rifle Association (CCRA). GunsSaveLife.com is our Web site.

We are a civil rights organization dedicated to fully restoring to the citizens of Illinois their full rights as guaranteed by the US Constitution. Our main focus is, of course, the Second Amendment.

One of our primary activities has been putting up the "Burma Shave" style signs that you may have seen along many of the major highways throughout Illinois.

Although our focus was originally local, our success has drawn the attention of other like-minded groups throughout the state of Illinois, and around the US. We have an active outreach program that helps other associations advance their civil rights struggle.

What We Stand For

CCRA believes that the Second Amendment means precisely what it says: "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."  Thus, we believe that laws that restrict, hamper, or deter the free exercise of this right are in error and must be rectified.  An example of such a law is Illinois' complete and total prohibition on the carrying of a loaded firearm on one's person for personal protection.  In Illinois there are no permits, licenses, or other mechanisms which allow a law-abiding citizen to carry a gun for protection.  Again, in Illinois there is NO legal way for a law-abiding citizen to carry a loaded sidearm on their person for personal protection. Are Illinois residents somehow less intelligent or responsible than our neighbors in Indiana who have had permit-to-carry for over 20 years?   Are we, as Illinois residents, less intelligent or responsible than the residents of Kentucky?

At this point, we have been successful in clarifying a portion of Illinois' prohibition on concealed carry with the passage of our version of the Safe Neighborhoods Act. This new law clarifies the rules governing the transportation of an unloaded gun as long as it is in a gun case. (You must have a FOID card, however.)  The ammunition may be close at hand, but not in the gun itself. We call this "Six Seconds from Safety" because it takes the average person about 6 seconds to retrieve a gun and load it.  While not concealed carry, it does offer an added measure of safety to individuals who feel that they need a firearm close at hand.

Of course, "Six Seconds from Safety" is no substitute for concealed carry of a gun in a holster. (Which we call "One Second from Safety"!)  We are currently working to correct Illinois law to allow law-abiding citizens to carry holstered sidearms.