State Republicans stood up for Second Amendment rights. Names of gun owners would remain private under a bill passed by the Illinois House on Friday. The Illinois Supreme court then gave out-of-stater’s a break when it said they do not need a FOID card if they travel in Illinois with their guns.
The House proposal exemption measure passed 98-12 would exempt the names of 1.3 million holders of Firearm Owner Identification cards from the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The measure, House Bill 3500, must still passes the Senate and be signed by Gov. Pat Quinn to be enacted into law.
It is clear that gun haters like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Lisa Madigan and the Chicago Machine are not pleased. Gun owner statewide can only hope Republicans stand fast and refuse to bend to the pressure from Democrats to peck away at our second amendment rights.
Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield, voted to keep the names gun owners secret.
“This year, there have been a lot of calls on that issue,” Poe said. “If someone gets really creative, it (FOIA) would identify which houses have guns, which don’t have guns, and it’s sort of a security issue.”
Petersburg Republican Rep. Rich Brauer called the legislation common sense. 
The controversy began when the Associated Press filed a FOIA request for the names of all FOID cardholders. Attorney General Lisa Madigan ruled last month that the names must be made public under the act.
The AP put out a statement saying it routinely requests government documents under FOIA for stories, but did not specify what the information would have been used for.
During floor debate, sponsor Rep. Richard Morthland, R-Cordova, said he plans to introduce a resolution to have the FOID card program audited.
“This actually, I believe, marries the best intention of the Associated Press, and the abilities of the auditor general, to find out how that program is run without sacrificing and divulging this private information,” he said.
House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, was one of the “no” votes.
“I believe that the attorney general’s interpretation is right, that this is a matter of public record and the names should be released,” Currie said. “I don’t understand why all kinds of other names can be released, but these are somehow sacrosanct. I don’t get the concern.”
Currie said she is willing to look at reasonable exceptions to the FOIA law, but would like to first work with the attorney general.
Gov. Pat Quinn signed an overhaul of the state’s FOIA rules in 2009 and pledged his commitment to openness and transparency in government.
Annie Thompson, a spokeswoman for the governor, issued the following statement: “Releasing FOID card information could have public safety implications, and at this point Governor Quinn plans to review the legislation if it landed on his desk.”
In another move concerning guns in Illinois:
The Illinois Supreme court stepped in and declared on April 7 that out-of-staters do not need a FOID card if they travel in Illinois with their guns. The non-residents could not get a FOID card anyway, since only Illinois residents qualify. They still need to make sure their guns are permitted in their home states, however.
The case stems from an incident in 2005 when an Indiana man was arrested for a having a gun in a closed backseat armrest in his car. He was charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon because he did not have a FOID card and he didn’t have the gun in a case. The court ruled that since he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Indiana he didn’t need a FOID card as well.
“As the majority points out, if we were to strictly apply the FOID card requirement … nonresidents whose weapons are unloaded and enclosed in a case but who do not have an Illinois FOID card would be guilty of a felony,” Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman wrote.
For the southern Illinois city of Sparta, the ruling was a matter of economic survival. Sparta is home to the $50 million World Shooting & Recreational Complex. Chris Hespen works for the complex and said it hosted about 300 shooting events during 2010.
During its biggest event, the Armature Trapshooting Association’s Grand American, the complex saw sport shooters from across the nation and from 17 countries, according to Hespen. He said Thursday’s ruling diverted an economic disaster.
“It would have been detrimental and crippling,” Hespen said. “This facility here, yeah we offer day use and walk-in outdoor sportsmen an opportunity to recreationally shoot, but this facility is written and built for tournaments and competitive shooting events.”
On April 6, the House voted down a bill that some saw as sort of a test vote for concealed carry.
House lawmakers defeated a measure that would have taken away Chicago’s ability to regulate how people store guns, a prelude to an expected spring showdown over a push to allow people to carry concealed weapons.
The debate put on display the Capitol’s traditional regional fight over gun rights and gun control, with conservative suburbanites and downstate lawmakers wanting to expand rights and Chicago-area Democrats wanting to restrict access to weapons. […]
The state legislation, sponsored by freshman Rep. Wayne Rosenthal, R-Morrisonville, have specifically given the state exclusive power to regulate firearms and disallow Chicago and other larger cities with home-rule power from establishing their own restrictions. Rosenthal maintained there should be a “consistent standard” statewide. […
The House vote was 61-48, which is normally enough to pass a bill. But the gun measure needed 71 votes because it would have superseded the authority of home-rule powers of Chicago and other large communities in Illinois.
We will see more on this in the future.
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