Illinois: Private Transfer Ban Legislation On The Move

With the Illinois General Assembly returning from recess, House Amendment 1 to House Bill 96 is likely to move quickly.  HA 1 to HB 96 would impose various gun control schemes in Illinois, such as criminalizing private transfers and creating a gun seizure regime.  Please contact your state Representative and urge them to OPPOSE HA 1 to HB 96.  Click the “Take Action” button below to contact your state Representative and click here to find their phone number.

House Amendment 1 to House Bill 96, filed by Representative Kathleen Willis, would criminalize private transfers, require local law-enforcement to obtain warrants to seize firearms from holders of revoked Firearm Owner’s Identification Cards (FOID), and make the process to apply for a FOID card more expensive and cumbersome by requiring applications be made in person with Illinois State Police (ISP).  In addition, it would reduce the duration of the FOID from ten years to five and mandate that applicants submit fingerprints.

Criminalizing private transfers and requiring them all to go through a licensed dealer is a solution in search of a problem.  Current law already requires those receiving firearms in private transfers to hold a FOID and for the transferor to verify the validity with ISP.  Criminalizing private transfers would only broaden the de facto firearm registration signed into law earlier this year by Governor J.B. Pritzker.

Requiring each applicant to submit fingerprints would not add anything of investigative value while imposing additional costs upon the license to exercise a fundamental right and increasing the strain on taxpayer resources for ISP to process them.  In addition, ISP only has 21 districts.  Requiring FOID applications to be made in person is an additional barrier to exercise a constitutional right that is especially burdensome for those who live far from a district headquarters and/or those who have limited transportation or time.

Again, please click the “Take Action” button above to contact your state Representative and urge them to OPPOSE HA 1 to HB 96.