By Richard Pearson, Executive Director, Illinois State Rifle Association –
Presidential candidate Robert Francis (“Beto”) O’Rourke inadvertently confirmed what most people have suspected all along: the goal of gun control advocates is confiscation of firearms.
When asked if he was proposing to take away firearms, Beto responded, “Hell yes, we are going to take your AR-15, your AK-47."
Oops. Looks like Beto did not get the memo that gun control advocates must pretend their so-called reforms are not a direct threat to our 2nd Amendment rights. They are fighting for “reasonable gun laws” (wink, wink).
The truth is it did not take Robert Francis O’Rourke to expose the true agenda of gun control advocates. Anyone who has even casually followed 2nd Amendment issues understands that the real agenda is far more sinister than gun control advocates will admit.
Earlier this year, Illinois State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) made national news with a Beto moment of her own at a townhall she hosted. At the townhall, she was asked by a 2nd Amendment supporter about her stance on banning semi-automatic weapons. The supporter asked, “If I get to keep it, if I pay a fine and register it, how dangerous is it in the first place and why do you need to ban it at all? Why do you need to try to ban my semi-automatic firearms?”
Morrison responded, “Well you’ve just maybe changed my mind. Maybe we won’t have a fine at all. Maybe it’ll just be confiscation and we won’t have to worry about paying a fine.”
Apparently, Senator Morrison did not get the memo either and revealed the true purpose behind gun control legislation she and others are sponsoring.
What happened this summer with Senator Morrison is particularly important because during the Veto Session, the Senate will be considering one of her bills. She is the chief sponsor in the Senate of SB 1966, which would substantially increase the cost of a FOID card and would complicate the process by mandating fingerprinting as a requirement to obtain/renew a FOID card with a maximum cost of $30 for the service. The legislation also would raise the FOID card renewals to $20 every 5 years (currently $10 for a 10-year license).
Senate Bill 1966 passed the House by a vote of 62-52 but failed to win support in the Illinois Senate. The legislation, though, is likely going to be considered in the upcoming Fall Veto Session.
The bill is supposedly a response to the February 2019 shooting in Aurora in which six people died. The reality is that everything about that situation is already illegal. The shooter, Gary Martin, moved to Illinois from Mississippi and was a convicted felon. He should have never been had been issued a FOID card in the first place, but because law enforcement officials in Mississippi failed to report his felony to the national database, he had one. He later applied for a concealed carry license and finally his information was in the database and he was denied a Conceal Carry permit. He was supposed to surrender his weapons, but that never happened.
Had the laws we already have in place been enforced, the shooting in Aurora would have never happened. Instead of looking at ways to better enforce gun laws, gun control advocates’ only solution to gun violence is the creation of new laws.
Nothing in this legislation is going to curb gun violence, but Senate Bill 1966 will increase the cost of firearms ownership and make it more difficult for people to legally own firearms. The result will be fewer firearms owners, which is exactly what Senator Morrison and her cronies want.
It is imperative for the future of our 2nd Amendment rights here in Illinois that we let our voice be heard. I urge everyone to call their State Senator and urge a “NO” vote on SB 1966. Go to www.ISRA.org to learn more.
