Governor Pritzker Signs into Law the Combating Illegal Gun Trafficking Act
Today, January 18, 2019, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Combating Illegal Gun Trafficking Act as one of his first official acts in office! After years of tireless advocacy, the Illinois General Assembly passed SB 337 (PA 100-1178) on May 30, 2018 with bipartisan support. Many lives will be saved by this legislation.
Community Renewal Society has been putting our faith into action by leading efforts to stop the gun violence plaguing our communities. Since gun dealers are one of the the largest sources of illegally trafficked firearms in our nation, we joined efforts with the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention Coalition to advocate for this legislation to keep our communities and kids safe.
The Combating Illegal Gun Trafficking Act creates a Firearm Dealer License Certification (FDLC) process with the Illinois State Police and enacts provisions to better record and track private sales. It requires gun dealers to:
safely store firearms at all times,
make copies of FOID cards or IDs and attach them to documentation detailing each gun sale,
require employees to undergo annual training about the law and responsible business practices, and
open their place of business for inspection by state and local police.
We thank our partners in the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention Coalition for their leadership on this campaign, #OurOneJob. Thank you especially to Senator Don Harmon, who introduced this bill year after year, for 16 years and did not give up even in the face of strong opposition. Thank you to Representative Kathleen Willis for championing this bill in the House.
And, thank YOU! You made phone calls, sent emails, made trips to Springfield, visited your legislators’ in-district offices, collected petition signatures, prayed and persisted. Families in Illinois will now be safer as a result of your witness.
Thank you for helping to create a more beloved community for each of God’s children.
We know this victory will help us save lives and move us one step closer to ending gun violence in our community. Today we celebrate. Tomorrow we keep fighting for an Illinois free from gun violence.