There’s a whole new crop of gun-related legislation under consideration in Springfield at the Illinois General Assembly.

You can help safeguard your liberty (and that of your children and grandchildren) by filing witness slips opposing the anti-gun schemes that have been proposed, and in support of common-sense changes to Illinois law.

What are “witness slips”?

The Illinois General Assembly has implemented online witness slips for interested parties to communicate with legislative committees prior to committee votes to either kill bills or to forward them on to the entire Illinois House or Senate.

These are the latest way to influence the legislative process.  Below, John Naese writes a hypothetical conversation about the slips and their importance.  Remember, scarce few people are involved influencing politicians in Springfield – so when you participate, your input is magnified dramatically.

THREE CLICKS FOR FREEDOM

PRO TIP:  Create a new account with your personal information.  Do this one time and then you’ll be able to submit witness slips with all of the information already completed (thanks to modern technology!) and you’ll only have to select “Proponet” or “Opponent” and then click “Record of Appearance Only” and then Create (slip).  Three clicks for freedom and you’re done! 

TIP 2:  Open each bill in a new tab and make it a semi-automated process of making the three clicks and move to the next tab.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Do all of the opponent bills first, then do the proponent bills as a second batch.

Let’s get started:

Log on to the ILGA Dashboard or Create a New Account

Credit where credit is due:  IllinoisCarry.com does a good job tracking the bills.  The following is from their thread on this topic.  Make no mistake, they are all important.  However:  we’ve BOLDED the bills we believe are the highest priority / most likely to pass if you don’t have time to do dozens of bills.

Oppose

(Editor’s note:  These first two bills are the ones the anti-gunners are pushing hardest for this session.)

HB148 Lost & Stolen Firearms – OPPONENT
Illinois law has required FOID Card holders, but not persons illegally in possession of firearms, to report lost or stolen firearms since the Gun Safety and Responsibility Act became law effective 8/9/2013. HB148 seeks to deny otherwise law abiding citizens their right to own firearms via FOID revocation and felony conviction.

HB265 Firearm Protect Order – OPPONENT
There are many forms of protection order available to the courts in Illinois, from granting occupancy of the family home to giving custody of the family pet to one spouse or another. Of the tools available to a judge a firearm protection order, as it currently exists in law, is one of the most important when determined necessary by a court of competent jurisdiction.

HB265 proposes to subvert the judicial discretion so necessary to our system of governance by prohibiting the subject of an order of protection from purchasing or transporting a firearm, even when that order is simply in regard to animals, property, and a number of other orders unrelated to a physical threat against the petitioner.

While enough to oppose on its own merits, HB265 also creates a frightening potential synergy when taken in context with HB399 Protection Order Issuance. Though not the subject of the current call to action HB399 proposes to empower the States Attorney, and courts on their own motion, to impose an order of protection on behalf of a petitioner even against the petitioner’s wishes. This combination of ill conceived legislation, both bad in their own right, establishes an untenable system of potential rights denial under the most unusual of circumstances.

HB359 Firearm Concealed Carry Signs – OPPONENT
Inverts the signage requirement. Establishes a precedent of allowing private property owners to passively deny the exercise of all civil rights under color of law.

HB419 Firearm Concealed Carry Prohibit Place – OPPONENT
Adds places licensed under the Video Gaming Act as prohibited locations, including fraternal & veterans establishments, and truck stops, whether or not alcohol is served. Changes privilege to post a location any person lawfully in possession and control. Changes private residences to presumptively prohibited.

HB1405 FOID Act Private Sales – OPPONENT
Prohibits private sales of concealable firearms

HB1442 Firearm Concealed Carry Bar – OPPONENT
Prohibits carry at any establishment serving liquor. Establishes penalties for failure to post.

HB1467 3D Firearms Prohibit – OPPONENT
Prohibits use of printers for firearm manufacture

HB2544 Firearm Concealed Cary Church – OPPONENT
Adds places of worship to the list of prohibited locations

HB2659 Use/Occ Tax Firearms – OPPONENT
Imposes a 3.75% surcharge on firearms and firearm component parts

HB2671 Crim Cd Assault Weapon Ban – OPPONENT
Bans modern sporting rifles, pistols, shotguns, attachments, .50 cal centerfire ammunition. Provides a grandfather clause requiring registration, payment of fee, and locking mechanisms. Bans magazines. Establishes a system empowering DNR to develop a list of allowed hunting rifles.

HB2789 Crim Cd Assault Weapon & .50 Cal – OPPONENT
Bans modern sporting rifles, pistols, shotguns, attachments, .50 cal centerfire ammunition. Provides a grandfther clause requiring registration. Bans magazines.

HB3157 Firearms Registration – OPPONENT
Creates the Firearms Registration Act

HB3298 Use Occ Tax Ammunition – OPPONENT
Imposes a 2% surcharge on firearm ammunition

HB3411 Order of Protection No Firearm– OPPONENT
Denial of rights for any order of protection issued in any jurisdiction, foreign or domestice

HB3422 Gun Dealer & Ammo Seller License– OPPONENT
Creates the Gun Dealer and Ammunition Seller Act

HB3532 FOID Revoke– OPPONENT
Mandates FOID revocation when a FOID holder has complied with the lost & stolen requirement 3 times

Support

HB319 Concealed Carry Parking Lot – PROPONENT
Removes dangerous unloading requirement from safe harbor parking lot provision

HB367 Concealed Carry Public Transit – PROPONENT
Removes the carry prohibition on public transportation

HB433 Wildlife Use of Suppressors – PROPONENT
Removes the prohibition on hunting with a suppressor

HB481 Concealed Carry Rest Area – PROPONENT
Permits a licensee to carry in rest areas

HB482 FOID & Crim Cd Concealed Carry – PROPONENT
Permits firearms transfers to a person displaying a valid FOID or FCCL

HB483 Crim Cd Firearm Waiting Period – PROPONENT
Eliminates the waiting period for persons licensed under the FCCA

HB1411 FOID Possess Conceal Carry License – PROPONENT
Elimates need to physically posses a FOID when an FCCL is physically possessed

HB1427 Concealed Carry Gathering – PROPONENT
Eliminates the prohibition on carry at a public gathering or special event

HB1428 Concealed Carry DOT Rest Area – PROPONENT
Permits a licensee to carry in rest areas

HB1435 Concealed Carry Privacy – – PROPONENT
Limits privacy waiver to determining license qualification

HB1447 FOID & Crim Cd Firearms & Ammo – – PROPONENT
Elimates need to physically posses a FOID when an FCCL is physically possessed, including stun guns

HB1457 Concealed Carry Cook County Forest – PROPONENT
Eliminates prohibition on carry in Cook County Forest Preserves

HB2720 Con Carry Business License – PROPONENT
Provides that a municipality may not interfere with a business license issued by the municipality because the business permits a concealed carry

HB2721 Concealed Carry Vehicle – PROPONENT
Provides that an employer may not prohibit a licensee from storing a firearm in his or her vehicle. This bill was formerly known as Concealed Carry Business.

HB2771 Prempt Reg Mail Ammunition – PROPONENT
Preempts regulations related to delivery of ammunition to FOID holders

HB2772 Crim Cd Wait Period Firearms – PROPONENT
Exempts non-retail sales from the waiting period

HB2773 Conceal Carry Suspension – PROPONENT
Establishes time frame for license suspension due to carrying under the influence, including cold medications.

HB2828 FOID Preempt – PROPONENT
Establishes civil liability for damages resulting from ordinances passed in violation of state preemption

HB3218 Concealed Carry License Denial – PROPONENT
Establishes due process in regard to license denials

HB3236 FOID Local Reg – PROPONENT
Enhanced FOID preemption

HB3243 Concealed Carry Training – PROPONENT
Reduces training requirement to 8 hours

HB3266 Con Carry Business License – PROPONENT
Provides that a municipality may not interfere with a business license

HB3275 Concealed Carry Non-Resident – PROPONENT
Eliminates substantially similar requirement

HB3461 Concealed Carry Immunity – PROPONENT
Provides civil & criminal immunity to businesses allowing carry