Mt. Vernon Register-News

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April 12, 2011

FOID bill moves to Illinois Senate

Register-News

SPRINGFIELD —  A bill that would prevent the disclosure of the names of those who hold a firearm owners identification card passed the House last week and a first reading was held in the Senate Monday.

House Bill 3500, sponsored by Rep. John Cavaletto (R-Salem), is in response to a Freedom of Information Act request made by The Associated Press earlier this year, in which the Illinois State Police denied the request. A public access counselor with Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office ruled the information should be released to the public.

“This was a vote to support the rights of the 1.3 million people in Illinois that hold a FOID card,” Cavaletto said Friday. “I believe every one of those people has a right to privacy when exercising their Second Amendment right, and thankfully, the majority of my colleagues felt the same way.”

Historically, the information about who holds an FOID card, and potentially a gun, has been confidential. The ISP withheld the information, citing that publicly releasing the information is an unwarranted invasion of privacy and could pose a security threat to those people. The Attorney General’s office stated the disclosure would not endanger the lives of those citizens who do or do not own firearms.

“Releasing the names of people who have an FOID card is dangerous,” Cavaletto said. “If the list of FOID card holders is released, you are logically releasing a list of people who don’t have FOID cards. Criminals will be more likely to break into the homes of Illinois citizens that do not own a FOID card, assuming there is not a firearm in the home. Criminals could also target the homes of those people that have an FOID card looking to steal guns. It’s an individual’s right to own a firearm and they should be afforded a level of privacy when making that decision.”

HB 3500 passed the House on Friday, and was placed on the Senate calendar for a first reading on Monday. In addition, chief senate sponsor to the bill was listed as Sen. Kirk W. Dillard, with Sen. Gary Forby added as alternate chief co-sponsor.

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