Quinn Signs Bill Expanding Background Checks To All Gun Purchases

By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 19, 2013 4:40PM

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Sunday he said would close loopholes on background checks for gun owners and make streets in Illinois safer.

Quinn signed House Bill 1189 which will extend background checks on all gun purchases in Illinois, including those between private owners. HB 1189 also requires owners of firearms to report any lost or stolen guns to local police authorities within a 72-hour period. “Guns are a plague on too many of our communities,” Quinn said in a statement. “As I said in my State of the State address earlier this year, making sure guns do not fall into the wrong hands is critical to keeping the people of Illinois safe. This common-sense law will help our law enforcement crack down on crime and make our streets safer."

Prior to the bill’s passage, background checks were only required to submit to background checks from a licensed Illinois gun dealer or at a gun show in the state. Buyers must have a valid Firearms Owners Identification Card (FOID) and the seller has to call a state-run hotline to ensure the buyer’s FOID is valid. That now applies to private gun sales.

The bill is intended to close loopholes for “straw purchases” of guns where buyers with valid FOID cards legally obtain firearms, which then make their way into the hands of criminals. State Sen. Kwame Raoul, one of the sponsors of the bill and a possible challenger of Quinn in next year’s Democratic primary, said “Gun trafficking is the single greatest threat to our public safety. I’m proud to have brought together lawmakers with very different perspectives on guns to pass a law that finally moves Illinois toward universal background checks and gives law enforcement a fighting chance against the flood of deadly weapons entering our neighborhoods illegally.”