Illinois: Anti-Gun Bills Re-Referred to Rules Committee

Following strong opposition by NRA members reaching out to their lawmakers, House Bill 1091, to ban private transfers and make it harder to obtain a FOID, and House Bill 1092, to expand Illinois’ program of suspending Second Amendment rights without due process, have been re-referred to the House Rules Committee. The House Judiciary Committee previously heard these bills last week with very little notice.

House Amendment 1 to House Bill 1091, deceptively called the “Fix the FOID Act,” criminalizes private transfers of firearms from one FOID holder to another FOID holder, requires fingerprints for both new FOID applications and renewals, doubles the application fee of a FOID to $20 while halving the duration to five years, and increases the processing time for a FOID, among other things. These proposals make it more expensive and difficult for law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights, while adding nothing of investigative value for law-enforcement. Current Illinois law already only allows FOID holders to conduct private transfers of firearms to other FOID holders, and state police already do background checks on FOID applicants.

House Amendment 1 to House Bill 1092 widens the definition of “family members” who can petition for an order that will cause an individual to have their constitutional right suspended, and their property seized. These “Firearm Restraining Orders” are issued following baseless accusations, and without a hearing or other opportunity for the respondent to be heard in court. This bill also expands the items to be seized, to include ammunition as well as firearm parts. This law attacking the right to due process should be repealed, not expanded.

A person subject to a suspension of a Constitutional right should be entitled to high evidentiary standards, an opportunity to be heard, and the right to face his or her accusers. Civil liberties advocates from across the political spectrum have expressed concerns about these “red flag” schemes and how the procedure may lead to abuses of the process, due to insufficient due process protections.

NRA will continue to monitor these bills. Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org and your email inbox.