| On May 21st, the Illinois state House of Representatives Rules Committee will hear House Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 1966 and send it to the Judiciary Committee for further consideration. HA 1 to SB 1966 would impose various gun control schemes in Illinois, such as criminalizing private transfers and increasing the cost and red tape for a FOID card. Please contact committee members and urge them to OPPOSE HA 1 to SB 1966. |
Sponsored by Senator Julie Morrison (D-29), would:
· Criminalize private transfers, with violations being punished as a Class 4 felony.
· Require the recipient of a firearm gifted by a family member to call into Illinois State Police within 60 days to run a background check on themselves, even though they must already hold a FOID.
· Allow for the indefinite delay of firearm transfers. Currently, federal law allows a licensed firearm dealer (FFL) to release a firearm after three business days if they have not received any additional correspondence after receiving a “delay” when conducting the initial background check for a firearm transfer. This safeguard prevents the potential shutdown of sales via endless delays and allows law-abiding individuals to take possession of a firearm in a timely manner.
· Mandate FOID applicants submit fingerprints, including for renewals, which would not add anything of investigative value.
· Increase FOID processing time from one calendar month to thirty business days, which can span more than six weeks.
· Reduce the duration of the FOID from ten years to five.
· Require FOID applicants pay all costs for fingerprinting and processing the background check, totaling around $200 with the application fee, which would quadruple the cost associated with obtaining and maintaining a FOID.
· Allow courts to direct law-enforcement to seize firearms from those who have their FOID revoked.
· Prohibit those with a revoked FOID from transferring firearms to someone in the same household, which would create confusion in determining the owner of the firearms and would take away the right to self-defense from individuals due to the alleged actions of someone else in their household.
· Require the owner of the seized firearms to petition the court to have them transferred to a third party.
