Ooh, thank you ISRA for giving us the FOID Modernization Act. After all, they’re “the leader” in “supporting” our 2A rights in our state. Doubt that? Just ask them.
Yep. Remind people that ISRA is the leader in “supporting” our 2nd Amendment rights.
Maybe as in athletic supporter.
That particular gem of “The FOID Modernization Act” gave us today’s ammo background checks. And instead of refusing to make a really bad bill better (as the NRA-ILA people trained me), the ISRA negotiated this gem of a law so they could “have a seat at the table” with the anti-gunners.
Here’s where they wrote those infamous words in an email to members and others critical of their awful negotiating skill sets… in full so nobody can accuse us of taking it out of context:
The problem is you have not been told everything about the situation.
What people don’t understand is the Governor handed down an edict to the Democratic caucus. He was concerned that it appeared his administration wasn’t doing anything to stop the horrific violent crime rate in Illinois and most notably in Cook County & Chicago. He demanded that they pass either HB1091 or HB562 – one or the other without fail. We knew early on that one of those two bills was going to get passed and the Republicans don’t have enough votes to stop it.
The ISRA is a one issue organization, and we base our decisions on what is most appropriate in the long run. Our decisions are not based on animosity toward any group or individual but rather what is in the best interest of the Second Amendment rights of all Illinois firearm owners.
Given the political climate surrounding HB1091 and HB562 it was clear a decision had to be made on what would be the best course of action. Those who believe the ISRA should “draw a line in the sand” and say “no” to both bills, have no understanding of the mission of the ISRA – to foster the best possible environment for Illinois firearm owners. Taking a hardline and rejecting both bills simply means the anti-Second Amendment backers of those bills will do whatever they want and the ISRA will not have a seat at the table to try to get the most onerous elements of a bill removed and we did manage to accomplish a few good things.
Representative Denyse Stoneback (D-16th District), a cosponsor of HB1091, was adamant about three onerous provisions:
- It would require mandatory fingerprinting,
- There would be an unspecified increase in the cost though rough calculations based on other aspects of the bill, it put the cost of a new FOID card at about $75, and
- Applicants would be required to go to a police station to apply.
Other particularly undesirable aspects to HB1091 included the “clear and present danger” aspect expanded to include “any act” intended to cause or create a risk… It was dangerously vague with significant negative implications for Illinois firearm owners.
The bill would also ban the private sale of firearms with all transactions required to go through an FFL. There were no positive aspects to HB1091 and the ISRA took a negative position on the bill.
The controversy alleging the ISRA’s lack of support for Illinois firearm owners was focused on our neutral position on HB562. It was a very carefully considered position and it requires an understanding of the bill’s contents and the ISRA’s long term strategy.
One of the most naïve criticisms came from those individuals who either opined that there was no such thing as “backroom deals” or those who thought there should never be any kind of “backroom deals;” everything should be discussed publicly.
Otto von Bismarck, former chancellor of Germany, wrote, “The less people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they’ll sleep at night.” Backroom deals are as old as government itself and an intrinsic thread in the fabric of law making. Backroom deals are essential when you are not the dominant party. Look at the positive points in HB562.
First, let us be clear, the ISRA objects to the very concept of a FOID card. The Second Amendment guarantees it is the right of the people to keep and bear arms, period. No FOID cards, no de facto poll tax, nothing that stands between law abiding citizens and acquiring and keeping firearms.
The fact is in Illinois we have such impediments and the ISRA’s long term strategy is to have the FOID card declared unconstitutional, but you do not just flip a switch and it goes away. So, the short-term strategy is to do whatever is possible to reduce the negative impact on Illinois firearm owners while implementing a strategy for the ultimate removal of the FOID card which brings us to HB562.
Literally hundreds of hours and many meetings were held discussing over a hundred different parts and combinations. In the end, those discussions produced a bill that had several positive elements.
The FOID card would automatically renew simultaneously with the CCL renewal.
Ultimately the FOID expiration would be eliminated.
The FOID and CCL would be consolidated into one card.
Ultimately an electronic version of the FOID/CCL would be developed.
A public defender would be added to the appeals board.
The change of address requirement would be eliminated.
No increase in the FOID fee.There were a few other positive aspects but there were also a host of negative aspects the ISRA objected to:
Voluntary fingerprinting, changed from mandatory initially, but still objected to by the ISRA because fingerprinting should not be required to exercise a constitutional right.
It allowed for supervision and expungement of misdemeanor offenses if a person failed to identify where the transfer records were maintained by an FFL.
Person to person firearm transfer could either include a NICS at an FFL or through the person-to-person transfer using ISP FOID verification but also included the buyer providing a record of the transfer to an FFL within 10 days.
The seller of a firearm must save the record for 10 years.A key aspect of items 3 & 4 is the effective date is January 1, 2024. Last year the ISRA filed a depravation of rights lawsuit in federal court over the FOID card. We began with four plaintiffs and within a month all four received their FOID cards in the mail. Clever trick but short sighted. It is a tactic frowned upon by the court and is not likely to work again. The litigation to eliminate the FOID card continues with new plaintiffs and with a far more friendly SCOTUS it is anticipated that the FOID card may very well be found unconstitutional prior to the implementation of HB562’s provision for person-to-person firearm transfers.
Well now, the ISRA’s “negotiating” prowess has now morphed into an ammo registry where the State of IL now, as of the last few days, tracks ammunition purchases BY CALIBER. “Why’s that?” you ask.
Well, if a fella’s buying 5.56 or .223, and he or she doesn’t have a registered AR, guess who’s going to come a-knockin’ after the first of the year?
From Reddit:
Illinois is now tracking the caliber of ammunition sold for every single ammo purchase. They will likely use this info to go after people who did not register their “assault weapons”.
byu/dirtysock47 inFirearms
Once again, thank you Illinois State Rifle Association.
I checked it tonight and sure enough, it is as this gentleman described it.
It looks like that case of .223 that GSL has in the prize closet (that won’t go through any ammo transfer registry) just became a lot more valuable, right?
Maybe someone could point me towards the emergency rulemaking or public act that empowers the ISP to do this… Leave a link in comments.
Oh, yeah. We’re not happy.
And don’t forget to tell your friends what a great “supporter” the ISRA is when it comes to negotiating your rights away.
How does this even work? If I buy ammo, whether it be local or online, all they are doing is checking to see if I have a valid FOID card. Where or when do they report to anyone the quantity or caliber of what I purchase?
Also, just because I buy 223 or 556, someone is assuming I have an “assault” weapon? There are plenty of bolt action or other that use the same ammo. And, just because one buys ammo doesn’t necessarily mean they have a firearm that uses it. Are they going to come with a search warrant?
You won’t mind showing us your .223 bolt gun, right?
Yeah
I don’t track this like you do but I don’t know of any rule or law that empowers them to do this. If there was I am pretty sure you would have screamed it from the rooftops.
Not renewing my ISRA membership was a good decision.
Why does it seem gun laws are loosening nationwide since Bruen but here in this asshole state we’re stuck with a bribed state Supreme Court, a bullshit ass clown like Easterbrook signing away our rights, and the 7th circus just sitting there while we suffer ? Not to mention we have a collaborator “gun rights” organization making things worse.
Indeed, Senator Julie Morrison has even mentioned them on floor speeches. “Even the ISRA supports common sense ……………………….”
Time to buy a bolt action 5.56?
Maybe someone is buying ammo for that banned weapon that they LAWFULLY keep and use at their friends cabin waaaaayyyy up in Wisconsin.
From the appearance of the ISP’s Portal screen snapshot above, I believe it is the ammo Seller who is entering the ammo purchase data into the ISP’s database. A feature(?) of our blessed NEW FOID card, that is touted by ISRA as a “positive element”, is the lack of an expiration date. However, without expiration dates, it is the Seller’s responsibility to log onto the ISP FOID/CCL Verification Portal – Ammo Transfer page, and enter the Buyer’s FOID card # and Buyer’s DOB. The ammo caliber data is added by the Seller with a scroll down and a click. Quantity info input may or may not be farther down the page, possibly hidden by the caliber dropdown menu in the screenshot. I don’t know of any rulemaking that allows for this. Perhaps the rollout of the ISP’s AMMO transfer page has been a work-in-progress, and is now complete. Seems to be a clever way to monitor ammo transfers, kudos to the snakes in the ILGA. If anyone has other information on this procedure, please so advise.
That’s partly why I do not carry the new card they sent me, but the old one with an expiration date. So for at least until that expiration date is reached, that’s not a problem.
Just think, “pro-2A” Senator Jason Plummer is “sympathetic” to the Illinois State Police. He has expressed zero sympathy for his constituents. Additionally, the “pro-2A” Republicans are supporting giving the ISP more of YOUR money to carry out their witch hunts via HB2722. So whenever a lawmaker says they back the blue, ask them how we should back THEM for supporting this assault on IL residents? Anyone running for the General Assembly including Kelvin Coburn who’s a GSL member must announce how they would vote on HB2722. They are either with the state police or with the gun owning constituents. As we see more and more each day there is no supporting both. It’s either OR. They can support local or county police if they want provided it’s not in Champaign, Cook, Lake or any county enforcing this gun ban. But if they support the Illinois State Police they are BETRAYING you. It’s a deal breaker issue. They are USING YOU to get to Springfield and then like Plummer, will stand up for the state, not you. Ladies and gentlemen, this is no time to be polite about this stuff!
I am not sure why you have such a hard-on about how R’s voted on that goddamn bill but if you think that’s the biggest goddamn concern in our state, you need your fuckin head examined.
I’ll second David’s thoughts. If 2722 and some Republicans voting for it is your biggest concern in the past five years in our state, you need to extract your head from the sand.
I WILL NEVER AGAIN BE A MEMBER OF OR CONTRIBUTE A DIME TO THE QUISLINGS OF THE ISRA! THEY, ALONG WITH COMRADE PRITZGER DESERVE TO BE NAMED” HEROS OF THE SOVIET UNION!
Jesus H. I’m gone for a day and come back to news like this? Hey, thanks ISP. And ISRA. I wish ISRA negotiated as well as they do fundraising mailings. Seems like I get one of those every month or two at most. (They don’t beat the NRA though!) They all go in the same place at my house.
Seriously, is ISP trying to start a civil war? I know a few current and retired. I even shoot with one and play some golf now and then with another retired guy. I wonder what they’ll think about this? The good news is that Indiana has gun stores. I have cash. I’ll be hoarding a few more cases of 5.56 and 7.62×51 just in case…
If you’re worried about going hard on the R’s David and Sam it’s because they lie about being pro-2A advocates to get elected. They are grifters. At least the Dems are up front about their contempt for us. Partisans will always have their set of apologists. I could go on a predominately lefty website and complain about covid restrictions and someone who wears a mask alone in the car will apologize for them. Welcome to Stockholm Syndrome my enslaved friend! I’m not the one with my head in the sand. If the R’s actually cared about the 2A then they would think about how other bills would impact that, thus the reason for focusing on HB2722. It funds an abusive agency that should be abolished. IF this was an abortion issue the R’s would take more interest. Like that bill they recently passed so that IL would not share license plate data with other states. That bill wasn’t directly abortion but had a connection to it. The 2A doesn’t get such support from the people going to Springfield saying they’ll defend it. Welcome to political parties – the creation of sheeple. We need a majority of Independents. Nevada already has gone that way and it’s a much nicer state. Good luck to you both. Enjoy being strung along by people who betray you.
Track away. Everyone buy .223, 9mm, 10mm, .45, .40, 30-06, .243, regardless if they are tracking sales.
FOIA ISP for the information they have with your name, FOID number, purchase, case and anything related to your identification.