Peoria Standard

A bill that would require FOID card applicants to submit fingerprints was protested by state Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb).

She contested that House Bill 1091 is a threat to Illinoisans’ Second Amendment rights as opposed to claims that it is for the public’s safety and protection.

“I am a law-abiding gun owner,” Hammond said. “I have a valid FOID card, I have a valid concealed carry card and I am not alone in the district that I represent. I am not alone. There is nothing in this bill that is about the safety of the citizens in the state of Illinois that are the subject of most of the gun violence that goes on in this state.”

She claimed that most of the gun violence that transpires in the state isn’t carried out by responsible people who have valid FOID cards and concealed carry cards. The representative said that law-abiding gun owners should not be subjected to a difficult and costly application or renewal process. The bill would lengthen the processing time for FOID cards and increase the application fee from $10 to $20 which would only be valid for five years.

“Please listen very carefully people, more importantly, the majority of the people that I represent, they hunt to feed their families,” Hammond said. “That's where their food comes from. And so, when you're putting all of these regulations and fees, you're putting those on the people that I represent that are trying to feed their families.”

House Bill 1091 would also ban private transfers of firearms among many other changes to the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. Hammond further cited a scenario of how responsible her constituents are in owning a gun and how it impacts families.

“In the district that I represent, the young children belong to an educational sporting shooting group where they learn gun safety, they learn how to handle a firearm and they learn how to treat it,” Hammond explained. “And more importantly, how to treat their fellow human beings. Ladies and gentlemen, the people that I represent — the people that are legal and law-abiding gun owners in the district that I represent — they own those firearms because they like to hunt, they like to go with their teenagers when they're of age. They may be disabled and that's one of the few things that they can enjoy on a disabled hunt.”

Hammond stressed that people who commit gun violence “don't give a damn about this and they don't possess (FOID cards). And where did they get their arms? From the back seat or the trunk of a car. They didn't go to a bona fide FFL dealer. They didn't go to a gun store. They didn't take a class on safety and education.”

Under the bill, the Illinois State Police will be required to establish a portal to capture a report of persons whose Firearm Owner's Identification Cards have been revoked or suspended.

It passed the House with a 60-50 vote.