IL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Keep calm and carry on.

We’ve had an open line of communication with Todd Vandermyde, the lead gun rights lobbyist in Illinois, since like forever.   We work very closely with him.

You’ve noticed that we haven’t posted much about the bills being introduced in the General Assembly, including the bill to ban most semi-autos.  There’s a reason for that, folks.  That bill, and many like it, are introduced with no hope of passage.

They are merely introduced to assuage noisy constituents and paid lobbyists for the gun control crowd.  The Brady Campaign and Everytown/”Moms Demand Action”-types need these bills because they are bordering on irrelevant in the grand scheme of Illinois politics but they want to look like they have influence to keep that grant money rolling in to pay the bills.  It’s all about appearances.

If those paid organizers fail to even get a scary gun ban introduced, their grant money (and their jobs) might be in jeopardy from the well-healed trusts set up by the Soros- and Bloomberg-types of the world.

House Bill 6008 has gotten a lot of attention from folks on our side.

Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the Counties Code and the Wildlife Code. Provides that in the counties of Cook, Lake, Will, and DuPage, it is unlawful for any person to discharge any firearm for the purpose of taking any of the species protected by the Wildlife Code, or hunt with gun or dog, or intentionally or wantonly allow a dog to hunt, within 1,000 yards of an inhabited dwelling without first obtaining permission from the owner or tenant. Permits the discharge of firearms at a licensed shooting range regardless of the distance from inhabited residences. Preempts a home rule unit located in the counties of Cook, Lake, Will, and DuPage from regulating the discharge of firearms in a manner inconsistent with these provisions.

Folks, that bill is going nowhere.  It doesn’t even have any co-sponsors as of this morning, despite being introduced almost two weeks ago.  It’s been sent to the Rules Committee, which is the place where bills go to die a quiet death.  Resurrection is always a possibility, of course.

Todd has indicated that in he’s spoken to the sponsor of the bill and its genesis was in incident where a couple of careless bone-heads shooting at an inadequate backstop and had a couple of their carelessly launched 7.62×51 rounds end up in a child’s bedroom downrange.  The gents involved should face the law for their reckless conduct, and potentially a civil sanction as well.

What else is happening?   Not a lot prior to the upcoming Illinois Primary on March 15th.

The deadline for new bills is upon us, but it really doesn’t matter.  There are plenty of shell bills that can be used to get through any legislation we want to put together for passage.

What is ICHV and their merry band of friends up to?

Well, from the event held last Monday, they’ve got three main areas they are pushing this year.  All three are seeking nibbles, since they recognize they don’t have the votes to go for anything significant here in Illinois.  They are desperate for a “win”.  The last “win” they had was the “mandate” that private gun transfers be called in to the Illinois State Police.  We put “win” in quotation marks because the legislation that finally passed specifically stated that failure to comply was not even a non-criminal violation.

1.  Their “Lethal Violence Order of Protection Act”.  HB-3160.  This provides that your Second Amendment rights can be temporarily stripped for one year in an ex-parte court proceeding (meaning you don’t have to be present) because someone feels you’re a danger to yourself, or others.  It’s another one of these “feel good” measures that pretty much duplicates existing laws, but sounds like “work” for those donors who are paying these anti-gun hacks to promote gun control.   This is the bill where we will need our members and gun owner friends to contact their General Assembly members to oppose this bill, and also the House Judiciary Committee before it goes to committee.

The good news is, as we get closer, we’ll discuss some talking points about this badly-flawed legislation that would doom its implementation even if it was passed in a bloody floor fight and signed by the governor.

Synopsis As Introduced
Creates the Lethal Violence Order of Protection Act. Provides that a petitioner may request an emergency lethal violence order of protection by filing an affidavit or verified pleading alleging that the respondent poses an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or another by having in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm. Provides that the petition shall also describe the type, and location of any firearm or firearms presently believed by the petitioner to be possessed or controlled by the respondent. Provides that the petitioner may be a family member of the respondent or a law enforcement officer, who files a petition alleging that the respondent poses a danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or another by having in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm. Establishes factors that the court must consider before issuing a lethal violence order of protection. Provides for the issuance of ex parte orders and one year orders. Provides that if the court issues the order the respondent must: (1) refrain from having in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving additional firearms for the duration of the order; and (2) turn over to the local law enforcement agency any firearm, Firearm Owner’s Identification Card, or concealed carry license in his or her possession. Establishes factors for renewing and terminating lethal violence orders of protection. Amends the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act and the Firearm Concealed Carry Act to make conforming changes.

2.  Dealer licensing.   The ICHV crew likes to say the federal government doesn’t have the resources to go after federally licensed gun dealers who are breaking the law.  They like to say, “we’ll have state and local monitoring” of gun dealers with a state-licensing scheme.  Why nobody has raised their hand to say Illinois is in even worse fiscal shape than the federal government is beyond me.  The feds can print money.  Illinois can’t.  Good luck on this one.  Again, they have to SOUND like they are going to do something to keep those grants and funding coming to pay the bills.

3.  Universal Background Checks.  Yeah, we’ve heard that scam plenty.  They want to beef up the penalties in Illinois.  I mentioned earlier that Illinois has such a law but non-compliance is not a crime, or even a non-criminal offense.  Again, they have to SOUND like they are going to do something to keep those grants and funding coming to pay the bills.

In Summary.

In short, we’re in good shape.  Stay alert though.  Our primary focus is going to be pressuring downstate Democrat Senators to pressure Senate President John Cullerton into letting our bills get out of committee in the Senate.  There’s going to be a lot of unhappy downstate Democrats if Cullerton doesn’t do so this year.  We’re tired of playing nice with Cullerton and you should be too.

And make sure you vote on or before (via early voting) the Illinois Primary on March 15th.