NRA Supported Case Calls for Suspension of Illinois’s FOID Act
Grassroots Illinois-based Second Amendment organization Guns Save Life filed an important NRA-supported case challenging the very foundations of Illinois gun law. Following an early adverse ruling the group filed an expedited appeal asking the Illinois Supreme Court to put aside the lower court’s ruling and suspend the state’s Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Act. NRA has supported and been involved in this case as they are in cases all over the state. The FOID Act requires law-abiding Illinois citizens to obtain and pay for a license from the State before they are allowed to posses or purchase any firearms and ammunition.
“Law-abiding citizens should not be required to obtain government approval before exercising a constitutionally protected right,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.
The case of one Guns Save Life member, mentioned in the organization’s complaint, shows how drastically the FOID Act infringes on that right. In compliance with the Act, the member recently sought to renew his FOID card. But the police denied his application and revoked his card, claiming to have “suddenly” found a battery conviction in his record. The problem is he has no such conviction, and the courts have no record of one. Nevertheless, because he no longer had a FOID card, he was forcibly disarmed.
Yesterday’s motion asks for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to put the Act on hold while litigation is underway.
“Illinois is one of only two states to impose such extreme gun control restrictions upon law-abiding citizens,” continued Cox. “The men and women of the National Rifle Association are pleased to join Guns Save Life in this fight to protect the Second Amendment rights of Illinois gun owners.”
I Want to Purchase a Firearm; How Does This Work?
How long does it take? How does the process work?
For seasoned firearm purchasers, the buying process can be an easy, familiar process but for new buyers the process might seem complicated or overwhelming. Fear not, the process is actually easy and straight forward.
Gun laws, of course, vary by state with a dozen and a half or so states requiring some form of waiting period and other states requiring special licenses or registration of firearms. However, one thing is universally true – when you buy a firearm from a licensed dealer, you must fill out some paperwork and, generally, go through a background check process (sometimes called a “Brady Check”).
One of the most frequent questions I hear from new purchasers at the gun counter, right up there with (and sometimes ahead of) cost and features, is how the process works and how long it takes.
Since most states (including ours) do not have additional waiting periods or extra licensing or registration, we will not address those things here and will, instead, focus on the standard nationwide process. Continue reading
Gun Control Takes Center Stage in 2020 Democratic Presidential Race
U.S. Senator Cory Booker on Monday released a sweeping plan to curb gun violence by creating a national licensing program and repealing a law that gives gun manufacturers legal immunity, becoming the latest Democrat in the 2020 presidential race to make gun control measures a feature of their campaign.
In the past, Democrats have feared that supporting gun restrictions could cost them the backing of working-class, swing voters – the group widely credited with tipping the 2016 presidential contest to Republican Donald Trump.
After dozens of mass shootings in recent years, however, including at schools like the February 2018 massacre in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead, curbing gun violence has become a component of the Democratic policy platform embraced by congressional and presidential candidates.
“In my community, kids fear fireworks on the Fourth of July because they sound like gunshots,” Booker said of his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, in a news release. “In communities across the country, from Newark to Charlotte, from San Diego to Chicago, and everywhere in between, Americans are being killed and families are being torn apart. We must do better. We need to do better.”
Booker’s plan would also ban assault weapons; allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to regulate gun manufacturers; require microstamping technology be incorporated into new models of semi-automatic handguns; calls for universal background checks for gun sales; and close the “boyfriend loophole” that allows dating partners to purchase firearms after being convicted of abuse or under a restraining order. Current and former spouses convicted of abuse or under a restraining order are prohibited from purchasing a firearm.
Most but not all components of Booker’s plan would require approval of the U.S. Congress. Democrats currently control the House of Representatives and Republicans the Senate, where gun safety legislation would likely meet intense pushback. Continue reading
USCCA Sets the Record Straight on “Red Flag” Legislation
USCCA Continues To Oppose Legislative Efforts Aimed At Stripping Americans of Their 2A Rights Without Due Process
The United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), which provides education, training and self-defense protection to more than 300,000 responsible American gun owners across the country, said today that it will continue to oppose any legislative efforts at the state and federal level that seek to strip law-abiding Americans of their Second Amendment rights without due process.
This comes as anti-gun groups are pressuring lawmakers in a number of states to pass so-called “Red Flag” laws – which are also referred to as Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) – and some have inaccurately suggested the USCCA would support these efforts.
USCCA President and Founder Tim Schmidt said today that the USCCA will continue to stand behind any law-abiding, responsibly-armed American who faces an unfounded “Red Flag” situation and will oppose legislative efforts that allow for the confiscation of firearms without due process. “We must ensure that dangerous persons with mental illnesses do not have access to firearms, but that cannot come at the expense of allowing our government to target law-abiding Americans and confiscate their firearms without due process,” Schmidt said today.
“Many of the so-called ‘red flag’ laws under consideration by various states would make it far too easy for bad actors to abuse them and target innocent people. Imagine, for example, losing your right to self-protection simply because someone with an axe to grind against you falsely claims you’re a danger. Many of these legislative proposals are nothing more than backdoor efforts by the anti-gun lobby to strip law-abiding Americans of their God-given right to self-defense, and the USCCA will continue to oppose them.”
Schmidt also noted in a new video that he recorded and shared with USCCA members today that the USCCA has been voicing its serious concern with “red flag” laws that have been passed by states like California for the last several years now including in a January 2018 message to USCCA members where he wrote, “Therein lies the ‘extreme risk of ERPOs: relying on feelings to potentially strip an individual of his or her constitutional right to keep and bear arms — all while neglecting due process.”
Nevada: Assembly Judiciary Votes to Cede Authority To Pass Stricter Gun Laws To Counties
On April 12th, the Nevada Assembly Committee on Judiciary voted to approve Assembly Bill 291 with amendments and Assembly Bill 153 with technical amendments. The amendments were not made publicly available until just prior to the 8AM hearing, giving Nevadans no opportunity to read and express their concerns with legislators on the committee. The bills will now head to the Assembly floor where they will be eligible for a floor vote next week. Please contact your Assembly member and urge them to OPPOSE AB 291 and AB 153.
Assembly Bill 291, introduced by Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D-41), is omnibus anti-gun legislation that is a threat to both law-abiding gun owners residing in Nevada and those who are visiting. Most notably, AB 291:
- Allows Local Gun Control Laws: Nevada’s firearm preemption laws have been on the books since 1989 and have been improved over the years to ensure consistency in firearm laws throughout the state, by occupying the field of firearm related regulations with the State Legislature. With the amendments to AB 291, the legislature is ceding authority to the counties to pass stricter gun control laws without limitation. This move could result in a confusing patchwork of laws for both residents and visitors to navigate while subjecting Nevadans in one county to a different set of rules and regulations regarding their constitutional rights than to a person in a neighboring county.
- Criminalizes Certain Firearm Modifications: With the amendments, this legislation remains broader than existing federal regulations, criminalizing certain modifications on semi-automatic firearms. Violations of this section will result in felony penalties.
- Expands the ability for localities to create “gun-free zones:” These arbitrary boundaries only disarm law-abiding citizens and leave them defenseless against the criminals who ignore such restrictions.
Assembly Bill 153, introduced by Assembly Member Ozzie Fumo (D-21), would expand Nevada’s current law regulating firearm storage that could make firearms unavailable for self-defense.
NSSF Applauds U.S. House of Representatives Introduction of Freedom Financing Act
Legislation Protects Firearms Industry from Corporate Discrimination
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearms industry trade association, applauded the introduction of H.R. 2079, the Freedom Financing Act in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Roger Williams (R-Texas). The legislation would ensure large financial institutions cannot deny service to certain constitutionally-protected industries that are fully compliant with all laws and statutes.
“Americans must be reassured their tax dollars aren’t weaponized by corporate institutions attempting to eliminate a lawful industry that has become politically-disfavored by boardroom bureaucrats,” said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “Congressman Williams’s leadership is crucial to ensure banks which have enjoyed bailouts and insurance programs funded by taxpayers aren’t allowed to benefit from these protections while purposefully discriminating against the industry that provides the means for Second Amendment rights. These policies are debated and created by the elected officials Americans vote to represent their interests, not by faceless corporate boards representing the interest of the few. We applaud Congressman Williams for his clear vision in correcting this abuse of American trust and taxpayer dollars.”
The Freedom Financing Act focuses on the most egregious examples of legal commerce being banned through corporate policy that target firearms manufacturers, distributors, importers and retailers. Because the intent is not to force financial institutions to do business with certain industries – but rather to ensure that legal commerce is not prohibited – this legislation exempts financial institutions with less than $10 billion in assets.
The firearms industry has opposed moves by Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase when they published policies to deny financial services to AR-15 manufacturers and retailers to adopt restrictive sales policies, products that are legal under federal law for ownership and commonly-owned, with more than 16 million modern sporting rifles in private ownership today. Public policy is the responsibility of elected leaders and not dictated by a select few of unaccountable corporate boardroom bureaucrats. Policies to discriminate a lawful industry are a threat to American’s ability to choose the firearms that best meet their needs for self-defense, hunting and recreational target shooting.
