State Rep. Bob Morgan and JB Pritzker have tipped their hands. They’re happy that “thousands” of gun owners have registered. They’re BIG MAD that MILLIONS have not.
Instead of going after criminal gang members who shoot up Chicago streets on a very regular basis, Morgan, Pritzker and their fellow gun control pals want to make law-abiding residents criminals for exercising their 2nd Amendment rights to own popular and effective magazine-fed semi-automatic rifles along with other self-defense firearms. Anti-gun pols are demanding the law-abiding register their guns and good guy gun owners, by and large, are having none of it.
Trying to save face and compel compliance with their gun registration scheme, Morgan, Pritzker and crew have ramped up talk of FOID cardholders “risking their FOID card” if they fail to register banned self-defense firearms.
From WAND:
Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), the law’s lead sponsor, told reporters Thursday he understands that people may be hesitant about the new registry or prefer to sell their assault weapons to someone out of state.
“I also expect that number to increase as people recognize that they want to be law-abiding citizens and they want to be consistent with state law,” Morgan said. “They will register their existing legacy weapons. Otherwise, they’re risking their FOID card.”
In recent days I’ve had multiple contacts from members and others worried about losing their FOID cards for simply refusing to register guns they previously purchased.
Here’s a pair of texts from Mike in the 847. Edited slightly for readability and anonymity.
If I don’t comply (which I don’t plan to comply), by not complying the State will suspend or revoke my FOID. This would be done on the premise that I have not complied with their new law. Your thoughts?
My question came from a very reliable friend who was at a dinner yesterday… with a current State Senator. That Senator shared with my friend that his is our governor’s plan. Those that don’t comply will have their FOIDs revoked.
Today in Illinois, the only way the governor can revoke your FOID card is FOR A FELONY CONVICTION. Or misdemeanor domestic violence, but you get the idea. The Illinois State Police cannot revoke a FOID card because you bought one or more banned guns within the last X many years and failed to register it. That’s not how this works.
To legitimately revoke your FOID card, the State must prove that you have care, custody and control of banned firearms. And unless you admit them into your home by consenting to a search, or answering police interrogation questions, that’s tough for the State to prove without violating your Fourth Amendment rights in addition to your First, Second and Fifth Amendment protections.
If the ISP wants to ignore the rule of law and revoke FOID cards for failing to register, then I would anticipate a flurry of Section 1983 lawsuits in short order. I remind those fine folks at ISP of the federal code on Deprivation of Civil Rights Under Color of Authority and it’s personal liability for those officials who are found guilty.
Instructor Mike Brown from Chicago called this morning and smacked me with a clue bat – in a gentle way – and said that judges in Cook County may impose conditions upon pre-trial release, even for misdemeanor charges (such as failing to register a single firearm), including suspension of a FOID/CCW.
What else? Audits of prolific purchasers coming?
Something else we discussed was the potential for work behind the scenes to find judges who will sign off on paperwork to allow the ISP to “audit” the most prolific gun buyers in sympathetic jurisdictions (cough, Cook County for starters). If those spot checks show multiple banned guns purchased and said buyers aren’t already on the registration list, then the ISP may send out a “compliance team” to try to talk their way into the residence for a consent search. If that fails, they might try to use that refusal to consent to search as further justification for a sympathetic (a kind way of saying “oath breaking”) judge to sign off on a search warrant for investigators to return to execute the warrant. That could well end in violence and bloodshed.
The bottom line: Rest assured Rep. Bob Morgan and Governor Jelly Bean don’t like the mass non-compliance one little bit. They’re going to strike back.
The answer we’re looking for is just how.
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