State Sen. Ram Villivalam calls for tighter gun safety measures during a news conference on Oct. 10, 2024. (Amanda Vinicky / WTTW News)
Just as owning a car comes with legal responsibilities, so too does owning a gun, advocates said Thursday as they called on state legislators to increase those responsibilities when the General Assembly returns to Springfield next month.
Specifically, they want Illinois to shorten the period of time in which a gun must be reported as lost or stolen from 72 hours to 48 hours. The group also wants lawmakers to mandate that dealers check a gun’s serial number in a state database before it can be bought or sold. Gun rights groups oppose the changes.
“One out of every five people (in Illinois) hold a FOID (Firearm Owners Identification) card, which allows them to possess a firearm. So this is not a small issue,” said state Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago. “We need to ensure that all of our gun owners are responsible, and they do what they need to do to keep all, everybody safe.”
Read More: WTTW News Explains: What Are Illinois’ Gun Laws?
State Rep. Kevin Olickal, D-Skokie, said the point of the measure he is sponsoring (House Bill 5888 and Senate Bill 3973) is to “reduce the stream of firearms that become trafficked to criminals and violent offenders” by making it so that law enforcement can “quickly realize that these guns are missing, and are able to greatly improve their changes of preventing that weapon from being used in a crime.”
In order to raise awareness — and avoid claims of ignorance — the proposal stipulates that state police tell them when they issue and renew FOID cards.
But retired NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde, who is now a consultant on firearm owners’ rights, said gun owners shouldn’t face the threat of liability if they’re robbery victims.
“If we go out to dinner and somebody breaks into my house, they want to now put me as responsible for what happens because of a criminal act? I’m a victim of a crime and now I’m being prosecuted? No,” he said. “They’re trying to impose edicts to make the possibility of owing a firearm such liability.”
The Illinois State Police couldn’t immediately share data on the number of guns that have been reported lost or stolen. The state has required reports to be filed with police since 2013.
Advocates aligned with the Gun Violence Prevention PAC and One Aim Illinois are also pushing for stricter “safe storage” obligations.
Illinois now stipulates that guns must be kept in a locked container if there’s a child 13 or younger at home.
Their pitch (under House Bill 5891 / Senate Bill 3971) is to make that apply to all minors by raising the age to under 18.
Under that measure, the storage requirement would also apply if someone experiencing a mental health crisis and is a potential threat to themselves or others, and if someone in the residence is legally prohibited from having a FOID card.
Convicted felons, stalkers subject to court orders and individuals with documented developmental disabilities and substance abuse addictions are among those who can be ineligible to hold a FOID and own a gun under current law.
State Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, said as a mother of three, the fact that guns have surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death of children between one and 17 hits home.
“It is clear that we must address child access to firearms and safe storage,” she said. “This must stop. And I think we are all here to say, you know, not one more. Not on our watch. We know that gun owners can help make their homes and communities safe by storing their guns securely.”
Hirschauer said she’s working to create a program that would give Illinois gun owners a tax credit for buying safe storage devices for their firearms.
“When you want a gun in your home for protection, I understand you want to get at it quickly,” Hirschauer said. “But there’s amazing technology now for biometric safes that would allow you to get your firearm in a heartbeat if needed, but would keep those vulnerable folks in your home safe.”
Vandermyde said he safely raised his two sons without issue despite always keeping loaded guns at home.
“Never had ‘em touch one because I raised ‘em that way,” Vandermyde said.
He said Democrats’ plans are an infringement.
“You don’t want people in your bedroom, then why don’t you stay out of my house? Because it seems to be they want a one-way street,” he said. “They don’t want to honor the same principles for everybody else.”
While she described it as a “common sense” action, safe storage requirements haven’t been a priority in the Democratic-controlled legislature, which has in the past few years taken significant steps on gun control.
Those recent moves include a ban on high-capacity magazines and semi-automatic guns, creating the ability for lawsuits against gun manufacturers for deceptive marketing and a requirement that licensed gun dealers check with the Illinois State Police for a background check before selling someone a gun.
Yolanda Androzzo, head of the gun violence prevention coalition One Aim, said the safe storage and stolen gun reporting measures are priorities for the upcoming veto session.
“We need our officials, our elected officials, to act now,” she said. “These laws will save lives. They’re proven to save lives and protect our most vulnerable, our children.”
Last month, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said it was too early to say what issues the General Assembly may consider during the veto session, and that he had no agenda for the legislature’s first scheduled return to the capitol since spring.
Contact Amanda Vinicky: @AmandaVinicky | [email protected]
