Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (courtesy ufcwconvention.org)

” Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a gun-control measure into law on Sunday that expands background checks to cover all firearms purchases in the state, closing what he said was a loophole that exempted gun sales between private parties,” reuters.com reports. Well, that’s one way of putting it. Heres another, equally misleading characterization from the Governor himself: “”Guns are a plague on too many of our communities. Making sure guns do not fall into the wrong hands is critical to keeping the people of Illinois safe. This commonsense law will help our law enforcement crack down on crime and make our streets safer.” Which of those sentences is not like the other? Under the new law all Land of Lincoln . . .

All gun buyers must have a firearm owners identification (FOID) card, which is issued by Illinois state police to applicants who pass a screening of state criminal and mental health records.” More worrying, “The seller must then call a state-run hotline to check that a buyer’s FOID card is valid before making the sale.” And so all sales of firearms in Illinois have to pre-cleared (in a sense) and state-approved.

The”expanded background check’s” go into effect on January 1, 2014. I’d bet dollar to donuts that undercover cops will be trolling the internet for violators tomorrow. How great is that?

76 COMMENTS

    • Here’s the scenario (which I predict will play out within the year):

      Hoodlum #1 — “Hey, man, I need me a gun to go get some cash. Any ideas ?”

      Hoodlum #2 — “Yeah sure, man — lemme get the phone book, we’ll call the state hotline on gun sales for owners at addresses until we find out who’s got one. Then we’ll go rob their house during the day when they are at work…”

      Your government — enabling your criminals.

      • I don’t think that’s how the hotline will work. Presumably, you’d call the number, give them a firearms owner ID card number, and they’ll tell you if the card is valid. I highly doubt they’ll just have a number you can call, give any name and address, and they’ll tell you whether that person has a FOID card.

        I wouldn’t put it past Illinois to do something that stupid, and I think this whole scheme is a really, really bad idea, but I don’t think your scenario is one of the reasons to dislike it.

  1. As for the “unercover cops” (wink), they can troll all they want. It won’t go into effect until 2014. Make an arrest, and pay the settlement.

    • If it won’t go into affect until 2014… then talk about some GUN SALES IN ILLNOIS! I bet everyone there is trading guns right now.

      • Yep. I just traded most of mine to close friends. Except for the one that fell on the boating trip. It’s at the bottom of a creek.

  2. Had not even heard that this being being considered or passed the House/Senate. And signed on a Sunday? What sort of shady deal has to happen on the weekend?
    Quinn and Rahm are every bit as corrupt and worthless as public servants as their predecessors. I hope the good people of this state rise up and vote out their corrupt, inefficient leaders next time around.

    • Rise up and vote for who? You honestly believe ANY politician if there for you? Puh-leese, open your eyes.

      • Exactly! Vote for who? Who are you going to vote for that is not going to be corrupt. As the saying goes… Government is like a soup – the scum floats to the top.

        They candidates available for you to vote on… there really is no difference between them. Besides – voting only encourages them.

    • Well, I’ll keep playing along with the charade we’re all spoon fed in high school civics class because, after all, I’m a law-abiding, America-loving citizen. But let’s face it: if voting could actually change anything, it’d be illegal.

    • Meh, your ancestral homeland has similar rules. For whatever that’s worth. (So do all mine.)

      • What you talking bout son. Red white and blue flows through all my veins and all my ancestors, always has always will UH’ MERKA…..but seriously they can keep their ways. Don’t need the old countries ways coming here, as hard as the “elected politicians” are pushing for it

  3. Man, they are just begging for this to get ugly, aren’t they? Somebody ought to close the boot-up-his-ass loophole.

  4. Unless you have some source that states otherwise in regards to the background checks, please fix your article.

    “The expanded background checks go into effect on January 1, 2014.”

    ^^Directly quoted from theirs.

  5. Make the streets safer. Oh, that means the gang bangers are going to use this system when trading an ounce of meth for a Tec-9. Next thing you know, they’ll want to close the loophole for holding more than a hundred hits of ecstasy.

  6. If you’re in a lefty state like Illinois, and all you get is universal background checks, consider yourself lucky.

  7. Meh, not too bad. At least you make a phone call and be done with it. In California, all sales have to go through an FFL, and that is getting more expensive all the time. Most dealers, from what I’ve heard, are charging between $65 and $100 to do the paperwork and run the required background check.

    • Common sense is a relative point of view. To me, common sense gun control means not putting my finger on the trigger and allowing civilians to have unmolested access to full auto guns. To me, common sense means that “shall not be infringed” really does mean “shall not be infringed.” But hey, that’s just me.

    • If ‘common sense’ is the standard, the first step should be to repeal a bunch of gun control laws that make no sense whatsoever.

  8. I grew up in IL, lived there the first 22 years of my life.
    I’ll never live there again. Left 20 years ago and will never return.
    IL is almost all farm country but is controlled by the dirty D’s in Shitcago. F the governor and all like him !
    At 18 I had a FOID card (slave) and on my 21st birthday bought a NIB Browning HI Power (papered slave)…never again.
    Quinn can rot in hell.
    Smitty

  9. Same ole, sam ‘ole – make it more difficult for honest citizens to defend themselves instead of finding ways to keep illegal guns out of the hands of violent criminals.

  10. I say starting the first of the year everyone call and check there buddies FOID card. Swamp them till they shut them down.

    • That’s actually a good idea… a few thousand robo calls and I’ll bet the system crashes. Go sign up yourself for democratic candidates that are up for reelection – and if you go away for the weekend fwd your phone to the FOID number.

  11. So the guy who is going to commit murder won’t now because he can’t get a gun without going through a background check?

    • Shitcago politicians are selling this. It doesn’t mean it is actually going to work. It just means they get to go on vacation with Mayor bloomberg on his MAIG yacht party. Likely if they keep it up, they will have pocketed enough dough for their own yacht.

      This is how Shitcago works. Decisions are based solely on the flow of money.

  12. I don’t need a law to tell me not to sell a weapon to a felon. As I already have said in the past, this falls under the authority of the State governments. If the people of a state want background checks for privates sales, its not my business to tell them what to do in their state.

    • Any law that produces a hardship on a natural right to self defense should be opposed by everyone.

      • There should be a simple test for new laws. If at the state level the law restricts freedoms more than the federal level (which ideally follows the bill of rights), it should be thrown out. If a law at the federal level restricts a states freedom in a manner not explicitly stated in the Constitution, it should be thrown out. If a politician attempts to pass a law that fits either of those 2 definitions, they are immediately removed from office and charged with treason.

      • I don’t disagree with you at all. However, along with rights comes responsibility, and I think its a shame when governments feel the need to legislate responsibility.

        • All the gun control laws that we need come in the form of laws making armed robbery, murder, etc. a crime.

    • How about if all the states actually supports the Constitution? They are all technically in the same nation. When CA, NY, IL, etc. grow ever more restrictive, that same sh!t winds up showing up in free states like AZ and TX. Anti-freedom presidents and incumbent politicians get paid by the taxpayers to disarm the same. This nation may very well be dumb enough to elect Christie (he’s moderate!) or Clinton (its about time we had a woman president!) in 2016.

  13. Amazing how the loss of freedom and transgressing of the Constitution is justified (explained) by the use of the words “common sense”. Common sense would render Quinn unemployed. It isn’t “common sense” it is statism. knuckleheads such as Quinn, and others like him, are the biggest danger this country, and our freedom, faces.
    This law needs to be ignored both in practice and inthe jury box. I used to live in Maryland, a state with such a law in addition to its own “assault weapon”, defined as a long gun with evil features, law. Many, many face to face firearm transfers were made in this state contrary to state law. Some bought a gun ftf just to thumb their noses at it. Illinois, take a lesson.

  14. So the law is something like this…

    http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB1189sam001&GA=98&LegID=71647&SessionId=85&SpecSess=0&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum=1189&GAID=12&Session=

    Seller calls in to the State Police, provide them the ID number of the buyer. IL State Police tell seller if it is a valid FOID. They give a confirmation number. The seller is supposed to keep the confirmation record for 10yrs,

    It is not a NICS, or any other Federal background check, despite what the journalist writes.

    Penalty for non-compliance in the legislation – none.

    Unenforceable mandate, but essentially opens opportunity for private sellers to perform due diligence and has a carrot in there for civil immunity for those who comply.

    IANAL

  15. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB1189sam001&GA=98&LegID=71647&SessionId=85&SpecSess=0&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum=1189&GAID=12&Session=

    Seller calls IL State Police (ISP) and provides buyer’s FOID number.
    ISP confirms that the buyer has legit FOID card and provides confirmation number.
    Seller keeps record for 10yrs.

    It is not a background check or NICS or anything like that despite what the ignorant journalist writes.

    The penalty for non-compliance? None.

    It is an unenforceable mandate. They did throw a carrot in there of civil immunity for those who comply. And it essentially opens the door for private sellers to complete due diligence.

    I am not a lawyer.

  16. I think the rest of Illinois needs to secede from Cook County. They’d be better off without ’em.

    • I think Illinois should be divided into two states – Shitcago/Chiraq and the rest of the state. This way, Southern Illinois doesn’t have to swallow Shitcago’s unwanted crap.

  17. Well, that’s not so much registration as a background check. The system does keep track of owners, but not individual arms. While some inferences might be digitally drawn, precisely who has what won’t be known to BB.

    But since even in a private sale the buyer already needed FOID, what does this change? I guess the “hotline” — (800)2SN-ITCH is my guess — will tell BB who’s considering a purchase.

    Ewww.

  18. “…This commonsense law”

    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

    • +1 for TPB reference …

      I think the antis think if they keep saying “common sense” enough that eventually someone else will believe it.

  19. I just checked, and there’s no provision for mental competency in the 2A.
    There’s no Constitutional precondition of who may keep and bear arms.
    Choosing who can and can’t bear arms, by a third party, is infringement.
    If anyone needs a mental evaluation, it’s liberal OCD prog’s like Pat Quin.
    These people hold more power in their hands than anyone with a gun.

    • ^^ this

      Mental health is, for the most part, based on opinion only. And if liberals want to ban those with “mental health issues from owning guns” I say let them cast the first stone and make all their democratic hunting buddies turn theirs in first.

    • People in mental heath institutions can’t own guns anyways. People outside institutions obviously should be inside institutions if they are going to go on shooting sprees.

  20. “HB 1189 amends the FOID Card Act to require that a private party who sells or transfers a firearm use ISP’s dial-up system to verify that the buyer or transferee holds a valid FOID card before making the sale or transfer.”

    Quinnholio is desperately trying to remain relevant, but he isn’t. With any luck over the next couple of years, the FOID system will go away.

  21. The fee is only $2.00 now at gun shows, but It won’t be long before the State will be charging an increased fee to private sellers for those buyer background checks. Somehow the sheeple believe that the background checks will continue to be low cost to the sellers. Keep drinking the Kool Aid.

  22. Think of your grandchildren – they will either say this:

    “I can’t believe grandpa and grandma suffered under such slavery… I could not imagine having to jump through all those taxes and restrictions to own and carry my firearm!”

    or they will say this:

    “Grandpa still talks about the good ol days when they could buy a gun without being fingerprinted each time and when there was no 30 day waiting period. He remembers just walking into the corner gun store before the ATF was the only authorized gun dealers and browsing firearm upon firearm.”

    It’s up to us, the People Of The Gun, to crush those that want oppose freedom and liberty.

  23. Wow. There it is people. I know my buddies in rural lower state IL is probably totally flipping out right now. Maybe if they move 30 miles across the border they can be free from statewide Chicago legislation.

    However, if someone wants to purchase privately they will just go across statelines to purchase it. They can also go ahead and purchase privately and make the claim that they purchase the gun prior to this law going into affect. Criminals however, will continue to purchase guns privately with no background checks as they have always done.

    An easy fix for straw purchasers is to buy loads of guns and make the call indicating they were stolen (even though they were not). Fill out a police report, etc. These laws ultimately aren’t doing anything except track the lawful abiding.

  24. And this is going to stop private party gun sales how…??? Not to mention the gangbangers, and hood, and thugs, etc…but this is all “common sense” gun law, right…???

  25. simply put it is a tracking device. not just to keep a list of gun owners but to keep a #’s list of how many are out there. next step is to keep tightening down on the gun control until the crime rate is soo high from the inability to defend ones self that the people beg for martial law. martial law is the ultimate goal and end game by today’s government not only by state but federal. the state level is a slow peice by peice taking of our rights so as not to overwhelm the people with 1 huge federal law. if they did that the people would realize “common sense ” isn’t so common.

    look at the ammunitions shelf at your local stores, kinda barren. they cant outright control our weapons at this time so they are controlling the ammo. a gun is worthless without it and the people who vote or allow this and any gun control are too.

    open your eyes sheeple, your time grows short. what did hitler do prior to his fame! yepper got them guns out of law abiding citizens hands. we study history so as not to make the same mistakes from our past. this country’s history was founded on the backbones of the men & women carrying these weapons, i hate to see it lost because there remains no backbones to carry them any longer!!!

  26. Another stupid Democratic governor. Thinks this new law and their FOID card will stop crime from happening. Perhaps he ought to compare Illinois to states who actually support the Constitution and compare the per-capita crime rates involving firearms and see which system seems to be working the best. FOID cards? What a joke. Want to lower the crime rate in Chicago, which seems to me to be the most in the nation -Congratulations Godfather, for your achievement – you would mandate citizens to arm themselves. Kennewick GA did this about 25 years ago and their crime rate practically fell off the planet within six months. Conversations become very polite when it is known that everyone at the table is armed to protect themselves. This governor probably thinks crime is prevented and solved by the police. Crime is solved by the citizens providing the police with critical information to close the book on said crime. Look at Idaho and that kidnapped young woman. It wasn’t the police who solved this thing – it was four citizens riding their horses in the wilds of the state. Police from four states were chowing down on donuts while trying to find this young woman while a couple of cowboys rounded her up. To the governor, I say this – I’ll keep my guns, thank you very much, and when I need your officers, I’ll give them a call. Otherwise, leave me alone and I’ll protect myself just fine.

  27. To the people in that state that did not vote libtard (democrat), you have my sympathy.
    To the brain dead morons who RE-ELECTED (were you out of your effing minds) Obummer and company, or did not vote…burn in hell.
    Elections have consequences.

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