Urgent: Common-Sense Concealed Carry Bill Stalled

During the 2013 legislative session, PCG, CRS, and our partners, have been advocating for common-sense gun regulations – universal background checks on all gun sales, reporting lost or stolen firearms, and titling handguns similar to car registration – to be included in any gun trafficking legislation considered by the Illinois General Assembly.  The Illinois legislature was ordered by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to craft a law by June 9 that will allow responsible gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public.  Two radically different concealed carry bills are currently moving.

The House passed SB 2193 (Amendment #1), sponsored by Representative Brandon Phelps by a vote 85-30-1 on Friday.  While this new measure bans firearms in some places, it strips all other gun regulations off the books, including assault weapon bans, and would allow nearly unrestricted carrying of concealed weapons.  What’s more, it overrules local municipalities with existing sensible regulations and prohibits towns and cities, including Chicago, from enacting new common-sense gun regulations in the future.

Governor Pat Quinn, Senate President John Cullerton, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel are all strongly opposed to SB 2193.  Both the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune editorial boards are against SB 2193 and support HB 183 instead.

Contact your Senator and tell them SB 2193 is bad for Illinois and overturning existing local laws will NOT make us safer.  Tell your Senator to support HB 183 Senator Kwame Raoul’s true compromise legislation!

HB 183, sponsored by Senator Kwame Raoul, includes common-sense provisions for mandatory reporting lost or stolen firearms and universal background checks on all gun purchases, unlike SB 2193, which lacks any gun safety measures.  Additionally, HB 183 allows local authorities and law enforcement to pass ordinances regarding who should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon.  We support Sen. Raoul's amendment to HB 183, which was voted overwhelmingly out of committee but has yet to make it to the floor of either house.

Contact your legislators now and urge them to support common-sense gun regulations by voting YES for HB 183 and NO for SB 2193.

This is a crucial time to help stop the flow of illegal guns into our communities.  Since the legislative session ends on May 31, lawmakers will be considering these proposals any day now.  Please don’t delay. The legislative session will end soon, but gun trafficking won’t—unless we take action and make our voices heard.