Urgent Action Needed on Gun Violence Prevention Bill

The issue of gun violence prevention remains an issue that that needs to be addressed at both the state and national level. Today I would like to focus on what we can do here in Illinois.
We are fortunate that a strong coalition of advocates along with some dedicated legislators have made some significant headway in Springfield, but we need to push harder to see some important progress come to fruition . There is an important piece of legislation that was passed by the Illinois House but still needs to get approved by the Illinois Senate and signed by the Governor. The Bill is SB 1966 which is called the Block Illegal Ownership Bill /Fix the FOID . The bill was put together to address major issues that came to the forefront after a 2019 shooting in Aurora where an employee killed 5 people and injured 5 others despite the fact that the shooter had a revoked FOID card.( Firearm Owners Identification card).

Current law requires individuals to get a FOID card to buy a gun . One can apply by mail, and after a background check can get a card that will allow one to buy unlimited number of guns for 10 years. If a card holder becomes prohibited from gun possession , the State Police send a notice of revocation and directs the card holder to surrender the guns and confirm they have done so, The Aurora shooter had received a FOID card in Jan 2014 despite a 1995 aggravated assault conviction that should have caused him to fail a background check. In March , the shooter applied for a concealed carry permit which required fingerprints which turned up the conviction. They denied the permit and sent a notice for him to surrender all firearms , which he did not do, and they never followed up .

SB Bill 1966 which was passed by House included many provisions to help address the problems that came into focus. It requires applicants for a FOID card to apply in person. It requires applicants to submit fingerprints. It requires a point of sale background check for all gun sales including those by unlicensed sellers. It requires action by law enforcement once a FOID card is revoked. It reduces Card duration from 10 years to 5 years which will require background checks more often . It gives more discretion to deny conceal carry permits if there is reason to believe person poses risk to themself or others. The bottom line is that it ensures that people with violent criminal histories are prohibited from gun possession and not able to easily evade law and arm themselves. While the bill has been in Senate awaiting action during the Covid delays, 7752 Illinoisians have been shot, we have lost 100 kids to gun violence, over 36,000 guns remain in hands of people who have had their FOID cards revoked but not surrendered. We need to urge the Illinois Senate to pass SB 1966 during the January lame duck session by 1-13. If it is not passed at that time, it will need to be reintroduced this year and go through the entire legislative process in both the Illinois House and Senate. We cannot afford delay which can save lives and reduce gun violence. When Connecticut passed a law requiring background checks for purchase of a permit and at point of sale, homicides dropped 40%. Let's not miss this opportunity to make a dent in gun violence in Illinois at the earliest possible time. Call your Senators to urge action and help call other Senators to urge them to pass SB 1966 and support the Illegal Ownership Bill and Fix the FOID!! Get involved in groups like Moms Demand Action and other groups that are working on gun violence prevention. Support and help any way you can .We must get Senate to pass before noon on 1-13 or we have to start over this year. Contact. your Senators today to urge passage of SB 1966.