Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Illinois Gun Dealer Licensing Act (GDLA) in January 2019, shortly after taking office. Despite claims from the bill’s sponsors that it would not impact dealers or cause any hardship, those predictions have not aged well. In reality, the new law has decimated gun dealers in the Land of Lincoln. … Read more
Illinois’ new Gun Dealer Licensing Act doesn’t even take effect until July, but already it has claimed casualties. A number of small dealers have opted to close their businesses rather than submit to the expensive new rules and regulations. As of January, 2019, Illinois has 2,464 FFL licensees. Todd Vandermyde of the trade group FFL … Read more
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Combating Illegal Gun Trafficking Act into law yesterday. The bill enacts all manner of onerous and expensive regulations upon dealers, with up to $10,000 in civil penalties for each and every violation. The bill’s advocates claim that Illinois gun dealers need more supervision. “40 percent of guns used in crimes … Read more
The following is a response to a recent letter from the Deputy Director of the Illinois Justice Project in support of gun dealer licensing that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times. So far, the Sun-Times has declined to print this. By Dan P. Eldridge and Todd Vandermyde Sharone Mitchell’s letter to the Sun-Times in support of gun … Read more
“In Illinois, a handful of shops have sold hundreds of “crime guns” — guns that later turn up at crime scenes. Just two suburban gun shops sold 1,673 of the guns used in crimes in Chicago from 2013 through 2016, according to a city of Chicago report released last year. Requiring certification would give the … Read more
Last year, as the NRA’s Annual Meetings kicked off, I broke the story of Springfield Armory’s back-room dealings in Illinois. Much has changed at Springfield Armory since those events, both in Illinois and nationally. In fact, just yesterday, Springfield took the bold step of cutting off their products to Dick’s Sporting Goods stores. I welcome … Read more
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed SB 1657 today. That’s the bill that would have mandated state licensing of all gun dealers in the state, not to mention requiring . . . Licensing fees, a minimum number of hours of experience selling firearms (100) for the licensee, a qualifying examination for licensees, training and “continuing education” … Read more
The Illinois gun dealer licensing law currently sitting on the Governor’s desk makes a mockery of the Land of Lincoln residents’ gun rights. SB-1657 threatens the lawful commerce of a lawful product by empowering the state to impose conditions on that license. Mentioned in the bill . . . Licensing fees, a minimum number of hours … Read more
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