Peoria Standard

State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) is leaving no doubt about his Second Amendment commitment.

“I don’t just talk about my support of the Second Amendment, I vote in favor of it and exercise it,” Bailey, now seeking the GOP nomination for governor, said in a video posted to Twitter. “It’s time to eliminate unnecessary FOID cards that stand in the way of your God-given constitutional right to defend yourself and your family.”

Bailey vows that’s the same commitment and determination he will take with him to the Governor’s Mansion.

“Darren led the charge against sweeping executive orders that shuttered Illinois businesses, collapsed the economy, and deprived hardworking Illinoisans of their livelihoods,” reads a page on his website. “A complete return to normalcy is a top priority for Darren. As Governor, he will work to fully reopen the economy and our schools, attract new business, and fuel job creation in Illinois.”

On the FOID front, Bailey recently filed Senate Bill 1948 with the goal of completely eliminating the FOID program.

“FOID cards may have served a purpose in the days before comprehensive and often instant background checks were possible or feasible, but that’s not the case anymore,” he said. “The state has been unable or unwilling to keep up with FOID card applications, turning the program into a major roadblock for law-abiding gun owners. It’s time to void the FOID and restore people’s God-given constitutional rights.”

Originally put in place to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals by requiring applicants to submit to a background check before being granted the card needed to make a firearms purchase, the program has come under heavy criticism of late as the application process has been slowed by a backlog.

Even as revenue earmarked for the program has grown, reports are card applicants have recently been forced to endure average wait times of nearly four months to receive their cards. The process also now requires a background check at the time of purchase, prompting critics to point to the duplication in operations.

“It’s unacceptable to me to think someone would have to wait four months to be able to defend themselves and take part in their constitutional rights, especially when the FOID system no longer serves a real purpose,” Bailey said. “There is no point in requiring people to have had a background check already in place to get their FOID card, just to get another background check performed every time they purchase a gun.”

The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) also recently filed suit, naming the Illinois State Police as a defendant seeking to speed up the process.