On Wednesday, May 28, the Illinois House of Representatives Executive Committee voted to amend HB2760 to include a lost or stolen firearm clause. Under this new amendment, anyone with a valid FOID card who is either the victim of a crime where a lawfully owned firearm is stolen, or if they lose a firearm, must report the theft or loss to the authorities within 72 hours. Failure to do so could lead to the gun owner being charged with a petty offense for a first violation, and could lead to revocation of the FOID card for a second offense, thus prohibiting that person from owning a firearm. Besides the difficulty in proving at what point the firearm is lost or stolen, this potential law only applies to those who legally own handguns. This bill would essentially add insult to injury by allowing legal gun owners to be made into criminals after being victimized by criminals.

The House could also take up SB1007 at anytime, which would ban the manufacture, possession, delivery, sale, and purchase of standard capacity ammunition magazines capable of holding more than ten (10) cartridges.

This bill is worded so broadly that it would also ban certain firearms, such as some Henry rifles, which have attached tubular magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. This lever-action rifle, whose design dates back to the 1860s, could be prohibited under SB1007, making this bill far more than a magazine ban.

Please call your state representative today or tomorrow (Saturday) in their Springfield office and ask that they oppose both HB2760 and SB1007.  Contact information for Illinois State Representatives and how to find yours is posted at the ISRA Website.