The Illinois State Police conducted the requested public hearing on the Proposed Administrative Rules for the Gun Dealer Licensing Act on October 24. The public hearing lasted a little more than 90 minutes and everyone was given ample opportunity to testify and provide additional written comments. Thirteen different people offered comments on the Proposed Rules, with 5 of them having the opportunity to offer additional comments. Gun dealers from every corner of the state testified, from those in urban and rural areas, those who are mom and pop operations, as well as large scale operations. Only one person spoke in favor of the Proposed Rules, someone from the Gun Violence Prevention Center. That person suggested that the one inspection a year should be amended to state that law enforcement follow-up on traces shouldn’t count towards the one per year inspection.

The bulk of testimony hit on 5 main themes:

The requirements for the video monitoring 24/7 are cost prohibitive for many dealers. Prices ranged from $10,000 for a 1,600 square foot business to minimally $120,000 for a 25,000 square foot business. Those prices were for equipment and not necessarily ongoing maintenance.
The infrastructure to comply with 90 day on & off-site storage isn’t available statewide. 90-day storage is also beyond the requirement for any other business.
The requirement for lit parking lots with face recognition cameras is not something that can always be complied with. Many businesses have on-street parking that is controlled by the local municipality or are in a strip mall that is not under the control of the gun dealer.
Having 3 alarm systems is redundant and unnecessary.
There is a lot of vagueness in the Proposed Rules, especially with respect to safe storage and goes beyond their statutory authority.

Nearly all of the opponents pleaded with ISP to work with them to develop rules that reflect the real world (thank you Bill Potts for directing the witnesses on this). There was also some mention that in a few places the Proposed Rules conflict with existing law. There were other concerns expressed but this was the gist of the testimony. I thought the ISP Major in charge of this was very attentive. The woman from DCEO who is going to produce the economic impact statement was in attendance as well as Brad Taylor from JCAR. It will be interesting to see what steps ISP takes next.

John Krupa III has done some great work on exposing conflicting rules and laws that put law-abiding gun owners at risk of committing firearm violations.

If you fail to renew your FOID card you have 48 hours to dispose of your firearms. You are supposed to be able to give them to a friend or relative who has a FOID card. The other option is to take them to a Federal Firearms Licensed Dealer (FFL). You have to fill out your ISP disposition form and turn it in to the ISP. A copy of the form can be found HERE.

The problem is that Illinois now has a 72-hour waiting period so giving them to friends and family is now impossible without breaking the law because you only have 48 hours. This forces you to give them to an FFL. If you don’t, the ISP will come to your door and seize not only your firearms but all those in the house, even though they may belong to other people living there. To make matters worse, now that you don’t have a FOID card, the ISP and other police departments can use your FTIP information to trace the firearms you have purchased. Not only will they seize your purchased firearms but those that you have inherited, family heirlooms and antique firearms. When and if you get your firearms back, everything you had will wind up in the ISP data base. This is essentially a gun registration system.

This issue must be addressed but there is little we can do now. The cure for this is to get your FOID card renewed on time. Every FOID card holder needs to renew their FOID card 90 days in advance. Please tell everyone in your household and all your friends to do this. Everyone needs to check their FOID card expiration date immediately. This is nothing to joke around with.

The same is true for your Illinois Concealed Carry License (ICCL). That must be renewed 60 days in advance. The ICCL is more complicated. You need to have your requirements done (your renewal class and have passed your qualification, and all completed 60 days in advance) on the first possible day you apply. This is a mess and it isn’t right. The ISRA will attack this problem ASAP.

On Tuesday October 29, 2019, the Illinois State Rifle Association held a mini-IGOLD In Springfield. The purpose was SB1966, the draconian FOID card bill introduced by Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield). About 250 people attended and everything went very well. SB1966 will not be called this session. Everyone who helped with this bill should be very proud of their efforts. On behalf of all of us at the ISRA, I would like to thank all those who helped stop this bill.

This was a big victory for the Second Amendment in Illinois. It has been promised that this bill, or more likely one like it, will be back next year. Remember, next year is only about 61 days away. Please encourage everyone you know to join the ISRA and help in this fight.

Check out the Springfield Report on our ISRA Facebook!

Thanks for being a member.

Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org

Saturday, November 2, 2019
Range Work Day

Sunday, November 3, 2019
Black Powder League
ISRA Combat Pistol/3 Gun League Final Match and Awards Luncheon

Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Tuesday Afternoon High Power League

Wednesday, November 6, 2019
ISRA International Air Pistol League

Gun & Trade Shows

Kendall County Gun Show
Yorkville, IL – Kendall County Fairgrounds
Dates: November 2-3, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-4:00
             Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00

Bloomington Gun & Knife Show
Bloomington, IL – Interstate Center
Dates: November 9-10, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $6.00

Kane County Sportsman’s Show
St Charles, IL – Kane County Fairgrounds
Date: November 10, 2019
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:30
Admission: $7.00

Quad Cities Gun Show
Rock Island, IL – QCCA Expo Center
Dates: November 16-17, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

McHenry County Gun Show
Woodstock, IL – McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: November 17, 2019
Hours: Sunday: 8:00-1:00
Admission: $5.00

Check out ISRA's website at www.isra.org! Tell us what you think!