Some lawmakers are working to add another layer of security before people can buy a gun. Three new bills in the Illinois legislature all look to use fingerprints to do more thorough background checks on those buying guns. The bills come in response to the deadly mass shooting in an Aurora workplace in February.
The Fix the FOID Act (HB 96) hopes to pinpoint and correct loopholes or oversights that permit felons to get and keep guns. A press release states that HB 96 would “help ensure that people with a violent criminal history, who are prohibited from gun possession, cannot evade the law and arm themselves.”
Three bills filed in the Illinois General Assembly would require authorities to collect fingerprints from people applying for state gun licenses or, alternatively, allow people seeking a state Firearms Owner’s Identification card to provide their fingerprints to the Illinois State Police as part of their background checks.
The latest was introduced this week by state Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Northlake. It’s part of a package that would go beyond fingerprinting to also require background checks for private sales between individuals, reduce the time a FOID card is valid from the current 10 years to five before requiring a new application and require the state police to take steps to seize weapons from people whose gun licenses have been revoked. The bill also would give the state police greater discretion to deny permits to carry concealed firearms.
