Posted: 3/27/2007 3:16:01 AM EDT
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This will be a busy week in the Illinois Senate and we must be on our toes and on our phones starting first thing Tuesday morning. Friday March 30, 2007 is the deadline for Senate bills to pass Third Reading. Any bill that has not been read on the floor for the second and third time by the end of the session will be done (unless the rules are suspended - and that is possible). We expect a real push this week on the all the anti-gun bills still in play in the Senate. A list of bills follows below. To add insult to injury SB1095 one of those "shell bills" that we have been so curious about has progressed from first reading, passed out of committee, gone through second reading, along to THIRD reading with no language . . . now we see what they were up to . . . a floor amendment was added last Friday inserting complete language for - of all things - Ballistic Fingerprinting!! Complete wording of the bill and NRA analysis follow below. We know many of you have faithfully made phone calls and sent letters and emails to your senator - now is the time to call those in leadership roles in the senate. Express your opinions about the following bills. ASK THEM WHAT THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP IS TRYING TO DO TO ILLINOIS GUN OWNERS!!!! EVERY SINGLE ANTI-GUN OWNER BILL IN THE SENATE IS SPONSORED BY A DEMOCRAT! LET THEM KNOW THIS WILL NOT GO UNNOTICED IN THE NEXT ELECTION! If you are asked if you are in a senator's district, we suggest you respond with " I am calling Sen.___________ because of his leadership role as ____________ in the senate. Again be polite, be persistent, be firm. President of the Senate Senator Emil Jones Jr. (D) 14th District Springfield Office: 327 Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-2728 District Office: 507 West 111th Street Chicago, IL 60628 (773) 995-7748 (773) 995-9061 FAX Senate Majority Leader Senator Debbie DeFrancesco Halvorson (D) A+ NRA rating 40th District Sen. Halvorson has always been a supporter of gun owner's rights. A note or letter should suffice. We don't want to tie up the phone lines of a friend. Assistant Majority Leader Senator James F. Clayborne Jr. (D) Has an NRA A-rating Assistant Majority Leader Senator James A. DeLeo (D) D NRA rating 10th District Springfield Office: 323 Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-1035 District Office: 6839 West Belmont Ave. Chicago, IL 60634 (773) 237-2525 (773) 237-7171 FAX Assistant Majority Leader Senator Rickey R. Hendon (D) Anti-gun owner bill sponsor 5th District Springfield Office: 627 Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-6252 District Office: 2928 West Madison Chicago, IL 60612 (773) 265-8611 (773) 265-8617 FAx Assistant Majority Leader Senator Iris Y. Martinez (D) Anti-gun owner bill sponsor 20th District 413A Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-8191 District Office: 3024 N. Pulaski Road Chicago, IL 60641 (773) 283-7000 (773) 283-2507 FAX Assistant Majority Leader Senator Louis S. Viverito (D) 11th District 121A Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-005 District Office: 6215 W. 79th Street Suite 1A Burbank, IL 60459 (708) 430-2510 (708) 430-2610 FAX Majority Caucus Chair Senator Terry Link (D) 30th District Senator 30th District 321 Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-8181 District Office: 906 Muir Avenue Lake Bluff, IL 60044 (847) 735-8181 (847) 735-8184 FAX Majority Caucus Whip Senator John J. Cullerton (D) Anti-gun owner bill sponsor 6th District Senator 6th District 111 Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-7260 District Office: 1051 West Belmont Chicago, IL 60657 (773) 883-0770 (773) 296-0993 FAX District Office: 4237 N. Lincoln Avenue Chicago, IL 60618 (773) 244-0606 Majority Caucus Whip Senator John M. Sullivan (D) 47th District Senator 47th District 417 Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-2479 District Office: 926 Broadway Suite 6 Quincy, IL 62301 (217) 222-2295 (217) 222-2944 FAX District Office: 440 N Lafayette Ste 100 Macomb, IL 61455 (309) 833-5526 (309) 833-5687 FAX Majority Caucus Whip Senator Donne E. Trotter (D) 17th District 615 Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-3201 District Office: 8704 South Constance Ave. Suite 324 Chicago, IL 60617 (773) 933-7715 (773) 933-5498 FAX SB0016 ASSAULT WEAPONS Sen. Emil Jones Jr. Creates the Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2007. Contains only a short title provision. 3/7/2007 Senate Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading March 8, 2007 SB0102 CRIM CD-ONE GUN PER MONTH Sen. Ms. Mattie Hunter Judiciary Criminal Law Hearing Mar 13 2007 2:30PM Capitol 212 Springfield 3/14/2007 Senate Postponed - Judiciary Criminal Law 3/16/2007 Senate Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Rules SB1471 50 CALIBER RIFLE Ban Sen. Dan Kotowski (D) 3/21/2007 Senate Senate Floor Amendment No. 2 Rules Refers to Public Health 3/22/2007 Senate Senate Floor Amendment No. 2 Recommend Do Adopt Public Health; 008-001-001 SB1095 FIREARMS-TECH Sen. A. J. Wilhelmi - Emil Jones Jr. Amends the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning a legislative declaration. 3/22/2007 Senate Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading March 27, 2007 3/23/2007 Senate Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Secretary by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford 3/23/2007 Senate Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Another example of a "shell bill" with no language going on to Third Reading - I'm sure we could see this week what they have planned for this. SB1096 Unlawful Sale Sen. A. J. Wilhelmi - Emil Jones Jr. Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the unlawful sale of firearms. 3/22/2007 Senate Second Reading 3/22/2007 Senate Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading March 27, 2007 About SB1095 http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=97&issue=078 In 2000 Maryland became the first state to require that new handguns must be "ballistically fingerprinted" before they could be sold in the state. Since then anti-gun activists have pushed such legislation in other states and at the federal level. They would have you believe they have discovered an effective new crime-fighting tool, but the truth is that way back in the 1960s their scheme was recognized and rejected for what it is--gun registration by another name. It deserves to be rejected once again. Under the Maryland law, every newly-manufactured handgun is required to be fired and the distinctive markings left on the bullet and/or cartridge case recorded and entered into a database before the gun may be sold. The theory is that markings on a fired bullet or an empty cartridge case found at a crime scene could be compared to markings in the database, thus identifying the firearm used by the criminal--but not the criminal, who most likely stole the firearm in question, leaving no paper trail to follow.1 To date Maryland`s law has proven to be an utter failure--it unfairly penalizes law-abiding gun owners and taxpayers, with no law enforcement value. With an average cost of $5,000 per shell casing, not a single crime has been solved. However, the number of laboratory personnel and administrators to run the program has risen, while the MSP has lost 12 troopers who would normally perform the critical job of ensuring public safety. By paying for IBIS out of community policing funds, the law is draining money from a program that monitors criminals and diverting it to a program that monitors law-abiding citizens. Maryland`s "Ballistic Fingerprinting" Scorecard Purchase price of IBIS, the software system used to manage collected shell casings.................................$1,100,000 Deallocated funds from community policing projects used to pay for IBIS....................................$1,000,000 Average annual cost of extended warranty on IBIS....................................$150,000 Annual operating cost according to legislative analysis of Maryland State Police (MSP) budget..................$750,000 Officer personnel lines MSP will give up to attrition this year...................................12 troopers Number of new handguns lawfully transferred under the new law (10/1/2000-3/13/2001)............................400 Number of new handguns that would typically have been sold between 10/1/2000 and 3/13/2001................17,500 Number of crimes solved using shell casings available under the mandate..................ZERO Faced with these the cold facts, the law`s anti-gun proponents have declared victory. Why? Because only 2.2% of the hand guns normally sold in Maryland during this period have been sold. As a key sponsor of the law even told the Washington Post, "We have inadvertently created an unintended consequence of a de facto ban on some weapons from some manufacturers." Besides the utter failure of "ballistic fingerprinting" in Maryland, there are other important reasons to vigorously oppose such legislation at the state and federal levels. Among other things, "Ballistic Fingerprinting" schemes would: * Require registration of law-abiding gun owners only. The system would apply only to newly-manufactured firearms, but anti-gun activists would soon demand that the "loopholes" in the system be closed and that all of the more than 200 million privately owned firearms in America be surrendered to authorities for "fingerprinting." This would, of course, require registration, but only of honest citizens. Felons would be constitutionally exempt from any registration requirement.2 * Be irrelevant to nearly all violent crime. Proponents ignore the fact that three out of four violent crimes, don`t involve firearms. They also ignore the fact that less than 1% of the firearms in America are used in crimes.3 * Be circumvented easily by criminals. Nothing would prevent a criminal from altering the relevant parts of a firearm before using it in a crime, thereby rendering useless any bullet/cartridge case comparisons. * Ignore the fact that, unlike real fingerprints, "ballistic fingerprints" can change. When a firearm wears through use and/or lack of maintenance, the markings on the bullets and/or cases it fires change. * Ignore the fact that most often no "fingerprints" are left behind. In 87% of handgun-related violent crimes, the gun is not fired, only brandished.4 Furthermore, many firearm designs, i.e. revolvers, do not eject fired cases, and shotguns, of course do not fire bullets. * Provide little bang for a lot of bucks. The tax dollars required to create the bureaucracy necessary to administer such systems would be much more efficiently spent on more traditional law enforcement activities, such as hiring and retaining additional police officers and prosecutors and providing police departments with much-needed equipment. * SUMMARY: "Ballistic fingerprinting" is yet another costly diversion from the real problem--the lack of prosecutions of armed, violent offenders. State and federal lawmakers should be focusing tax dollars on real solutions, not unworkable government bureaucracies. 1. A study by BATF found that more than 70% of armed career criminals get their guns from "off-the-street sales" and "criminal acts" such as burglaries. ("Protecting America," 3/92). A study for the Department of Justice found that up to 71% of criminals` guns have been stolen. (Armed and Considered Dangerous, 1986) 2. In Haynes v. U.S. (390 U.S. 85, 1968), a convicted felon successfully appealed his conviction for unlawful possession of an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, citing the Fifth Amendment`s protection against self-incrimination. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled: "We hold that a proper claim of constitutional privilege against self-incrimination provides a full defense to prosecutions either for failure to register a firearm under sec.5841 or for possession of an unregistered firearm under sec.5851." 3. Crime in the United States 1998. The FBI estimates firearms were used in 382,761 violent crimes that year. Even if a different gun was used in each crime, the total would amount to less than two-tenths of 1% of the nation`s estimated 230-240 million guns. (Targeting Guns: Firearms and Their Control, Aldine de Gruyter, New York, 1997, pp. 96-97) 4. Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Handgun Crime Victims," July 1990. SB1095 FIREARMS-TECH Sen. A. J. Wilhelmi - Emil Jones Jr. Amends the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning a legislative declaration. 3/23/2007 Senate Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Secretary by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford 3/23/2007 Senate Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford Filed: 3/23/2007 09500SB1095sam001 LRB095 06020 RLC 34043 a 1 AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1095 2 AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1095 by replacing 3 everything after the enacting clause with the following: 4 "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5 Ammunition Accountability Act. 6 Section 5. Definitions. For purposes of this Act: 7 (a) "Coded" and "coded ammunition" mean a bullet carrying a 8 unique identifier that has been applied by etching the same 9 onto the base of the bullet. 10 (b) "Firearm ammunition" shall have the meaning provided in 11 Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act, 12 except that it shall not include shotgun shells or ammunition 13 designed to be used in muzzle-loading "black powder" firearms. 14 Section 10. Prohibition on sale, manufacture, or use of 15 non-coded ammunition. 09500SB1095sam001 - 2 - LRB095 06020 RLC 34043 a 1 (a) All firearm ammunition manufactured or sold in the 2 State of Illinois on or after January 1, 2008 shall be coded by 3 the manufacturer. 4 (b) Effective January 1, 2010, all firearm ammunition used 5 within the State of Illinois shall be coded by the 6 manufacturer. 7 (c) On or after January 1, 2010, a person in possession of 8 non-coded ammunition that was manufactured prior to January 1, 9 2008, may transfer the same only to an heir, to an individual 10 residing in another state maintaining the ammunition in another 11 state, or to a federally licensed firearms dealer. 12 (d) This Section does not apply to any memorabilia or 13 display item that is filled with a permanent inert substance or 14 that is otherwise permanently altered in a manner that prevents 15 ready modification for use as live ammunition. 16 Section 15. Authority to establish an Ammunition Coding 17 System Database. 18 (a) The Department of State Police shall be responsible for 19 establishing and maintaining an Ammunition Coding System 20 Database (ACSD) containing the following information: 21 (1) Manufacturer registry. The manufacturers shall: 22 (i) register with the Department of State Police in a 23 manner prescribed by the Department through rule; and (ii) 24 maintain records on the business premises for a period of 25 seven years concerning all sales, loans, and transfers of 09500SB1095sam001 - 3 - LRB095 06020 RLC 34043 a 1 ammunition, to, from, or within the State. 2 (2) Vendor registry. The vendors shall: 3 (A) register with Department of State Police in a 4 manner prescribed by the Department through rule; 5 (B) record the following information in a format 6 prescribed by rule by the Department of State Police: 7 (i) the date of the transaction; (ii) the name of the 8 transferee; (iii) the purchaser's driver's license 9 number or other government issued identification card 10 number; (iv) the date of birth of the purchaser; (v) 11 the unique identifier of all ammunition; and (vi) such 12 other information as the Department of State Police may 13 by rule prescribe; and 14 (C) maintain records on the business premises for a 15 period of 3 years from the date of the recorded 16 purchase. 17 (b) To the greatest extent possible or practical, the ACSD 18 shall be built within the framework of existing firearms 19 databases. Subject to appropriation, the ACSD shall be 20 operational no later than January 1, 2008. 21 (c) Privacy of individuals is of the utmost importance. 22 Access to information in the ACSD is reserved for law 23 enforcement personnel and to be released only in connection 24 with a criminal investigation. 25 Section 20. Penalties. 09500SB1095sam001 - 4 - LRB095 06020 RLC 34043 a 1 (a) Any vendor that knowingly fails to comply with this 2 Act, or who knowingly falsifies the records required to be kept 3 under this Act, is guilty of a petty offense and is subject to 4 a fine of $1,000 for each violation. Each retail package of 5 ammunition sold in violation of this Act shall be deemed a 6 separate violation. 7 (b) Any manufacturer that knowingly fails to comply with 8 the requirement of this Act is guilty of a petty offense, and 9 is subject to a fine of $1,000 for a first violation and for a 10 second violation is guilty of a business offense and is subject 11 to a fine of $5,000, and for a third or subsequent violation is 12 guilty of a business offense and is subject to a fine of 13 $10,000. Each wholesale package manufactured in violation of 14 this Act shall be deemed a separate violation. 15 (c) Any person who knowingly destroys, obliterates, or 16 otherwise renders unreadable, the serialization required 17 pursuant to this Act, on any bullet or assembled ammunition, 18 shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony. This subsection (c) shall 19 not apply to any person who destroys, obliterates, or otherwise 20 renders unreadable, the serialization required hereunder in 21 the process of filling ammunition with a permanent inert 22 substance or otherwise permanently altering it in a manner that 23 prevents ready modification for use as live ammunition.". CCW for Illinois |
