SPRINGFIELD….State Representative Tony McCombie (IL-71st) today filed House Bill 367, common sense legislation that will effectively target gun dealers who have proven to be the “bad actors” on the same day Governor Pritzker signed unnecessary legislation into law. Governor Pritzker signing SB337 into law threatens the livelihood of current law abiding gun dealers and does nothing to promote public safety in Illinois.
“We should be focusing our efforts on causes and laws that already exist. My legislation will effectively target gun-dealers who are making it easier for criminals to illegally acquire firearms. I am a protector of the 2nd Amendment and believe we must have rational approaches that will put our safety and the people of Illinois first,” said Rep. McCombie. “Last week, Governor Pritzker extended his hand in a show of bipartisanship and I was cautiously optimistic. Legislatively, signing this bill is a bad beginning and will have unintended consequences. Burying the law-abiding firearm dealers in paperwork, increasing their fees and taxes may put them out of business and could increase the illegal sales of weapons. This legislation does nothing to create a safer Illinois.”
House Bill 367 states, if and only, Senate Bill 337 becomes law, the Firearm Dealer License Certification Act would apply only to Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs) who have been found by the federal or state government to have three or more firearms used in the commission of criminal offenses sold or transferred by the licensee within 5 years prior to the application for certification.
This legislation would protect law-abiding FFLs by concentrating efforts on stopping those that are not adhering to the current laws. According to the 2017 Gun Trace Report, there are two source dealers, Chuck’s Gun Shop (Riverdale, IL) and Midwest Sporting Goods (Lyons, IL), who are the retail source of more than one in ten crime guns recovered in Chicago.