Eddie Eagle Breaks Political Sound Barrier

ISRA: NRA’s Eddie Eagle Breaks Political Sound Barrier
U.S. Newswire
16 Jan 22:00

ISRA: NRA’S Eddie Eagle Breaks Political Sound Barrier, Makes
First Appearance In Chicago Public School
To: State Desk
Contact: Richard Pearson of Illinois State Rifle Association,
815-635-3198; Web site: http://www.isra.org/

CHICAGO, Jan. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ — The following was
released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

The National Rifle Association’s Eddie Eagle swooped down on
Chicago’s Duke Ellington School today, wowing students with his
simple, yet effective gun safety message.

Spearheaded by ISRA member Reginald Vaughn, today’s event is
believed to be the first time that the actual Eddie Eagle program
was presented in a Chicago public school.

Vaughn first became interested in bringing the Eddie Eagle
program to the West Side school approximately 2 years ago after a
student was accidentally shot by another student playing with a
gun. To his surprise, Vaughn found himself faced with hostile
opposition from the Chicago Board of Education when he first
proposed bringing the award-winning Eddie Eagle program to the
school. Even his personal plea to Chicago mayor Richard Daley was
rebuffed.

After being elected to his local School Council, Vaughn lobbied
his fellow council members — ultimately gaining unanimous support
for an Eddie Eagle presentation at the Ellington school.

Today’s groundbreaking event consisted of three assemblies — one
geared for grades 1 and 2, one for grades 3 and 4, and another for
grades 5 and 6. Each presentation was delivered by Chicago police
officer Roman Matthews. In total, 750 students were exposed to the
Eddie Eagle gun safety message.

“All the kids left the assembly with Eddie Eagle’s message of
‘stop, don’t touch, leave the area, tell an adult’ in their heads,”
said Vaughn. “They now know what to do when they see a gun — I
think we made an impact.”

“Reginald Vaughn is to be commended for his perseverance,”
commented ISRA President Richard Pearson. “He wouldn’t take no for
an answer, and successfully pushed ahead for something he believes
in. The 750 kids at the Ellington school can now be added to the
tens of millions of American children who have been exposed to
Eddie Eagle’s life saving gun safety message.”

——
The ISRA is the state’s leading advocate of safe, lawful, and
responsible firearms ownership. For nearly a century, the ISRA has
represented the interests of over 1.5 million law abiding Illinois
firearm owners.