New Illinois Gun Control Bill Raises Owner's ID Cost by 1,000%
Gun owners in Illinois have stated that they will not accept a proposed bill that seeks to impose new fingerprinting requirements, among other heavy restrictions. Despite the fact that the heavily blue population center of Chicago gets to essentially set policies for the entire state, the rest of Illinois is made up of good, red-blooded conservative American farmers who despise the fact that they are subject to the same gun control laws as Chicago (which works out so well for the city, after all).
Among other things, Senate Bill 1966 would do the following:
Criminalize violating private sale background check requirements to a felony level
Requires recipients of gifted firearms from family members to call State Police to run a background check on themselves within 60 days, even though current law requires anyone who owns a firearm must have a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card
Mandates the submission of fingerprints for FOID renewals, which FOID holders will be responsible for paying
Reduces FOID term from 10 years to 5, and increases cost from $10 to $50
Prohibits an individual who has their FOID revoked from transferring his firearms to someone in the same household, even if their FOID is valid
Requires law enforcement to seize the firearms of an individual whose FOID is revoked
The State Rifle Association’s executive director, Richard Pearson, said that gun ownership was a fundamental right and did not require fingerprinting. The gun-rights group hopes to rally senators to oppose the bill before it becomes law.
The new requirements would hike the cost of obtaining the FOID card by up to $300 for every five years. The State Rifle Association, therefore, joined gun owners to oppose such measures terming them as prohibitive. The bill started out as a simple bail bond bill, but House Amendment 1 added these provisions. It passed the House on May 29th, and is currently expecting a vote from the Senate.
By working together with gun owners, the Association hopes that it could be able to stop the bill from becoming law within a few days. The Democratic Governor, J.B. Pritzker, has already indicated that he supports the bill and would sign it if passes the Senate.
At the beginning of the year, Gov. Pritzker signed yet another law requiring licensing of all state gun dealers amid opposition by gun rights groups. His Republican predecessor, Bruce Rauner, had promised to veto the bill, and the Democrat Senate President delayed a Senate vote. After Rauner left office, the Democrats took the opportunity to pass it, and hand it over to Gov. Pritzker for signing.
Consequently, the State Rifle Association countered the newly signed act with a lawsuit. Many expect that the Association will follow a similar path if the current bill becomes law.
Our hearts go out to those living under such tyranny in Illinois, but Texas isn't exactly a beacon of liberty either. Our own Lt. Gov. is pushing universal background checks, and he must be stopped! Join LSGR today, and help us not only stop Patrick, but get Constitutional Carry enacted next session! Sign our petition, and help spread the word on social media! The more members we have, and the more signatures we have, the bigger the impact will be! Let's make Texas pro-gun again!
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