• Proposed Illinois legislation related to the licensing and registration of Illinois gun dealers (that sell handguns) and consumer handgun purchases may be heard in the Illinois House of Representatives as early as this week.
• House Bill 180 – which was introduced in January of 2009 and had sat idle in the House Rules Committee since last April – was suddenly debated late last week and passed onto the floor of the House for further consideration.
• The proposal is seeking to require all handgun purchases to be registered in an Illinois State Police database and all Illinois gun dealers to secure an operating license from the Illinois State Police – and operate under the rules and regulations that the state police establish – in order to retain their license.
• Gun-rights groups are concerned that this legislation could allow the Illinois State Police to arbitrarily refuse to grant licenses to some Illinois gun dealers or impose strict new regulations on those to whom they grant a license. They are also opposed to the state police tracking handgun purchases made by Illinois residents.