by Illinois Carry issued a call for witness slips in reaction to a bill that could outlaw lead-based ammunition for use in hunting in the state. They note that most non-lead alternatives are banned under state law. I presume this is because they are considered “armor piercing”.
While the state of Illinois and its General Assembly come under a lot of criticism for a number of factors, one thing that they do get right is witness slips. Not everyone can leave their job and travel to Springfield to testify in person on a bill. Witness slips allow citizens of the state to register his or her opinion on a bill before legislators. I don’t know whether witness slips are more or less effective than letters and emails to your own legislator but it is definitely a plus.
Call to ActionWitness Slips NeededAfter taking last week off, our Call to Action this week asks your help with a number of bills. Some of these, taxes on firearms and bans on arbitrarily defined “assault weapons”, are included for obvious reasons. Others, though still obvious, have potential ramifications beyond the language of the bill alone. SB1985 Wildlife Cd Lead Ammunition Ban is one of these.Introduced by Senator Don Harmon out of concern for the environment, it ignores that fact that most alternatives to lead ammunition are banned under Illinois law. The result? Whether one agrees with the Senator or not his bill, if it becomes law, will effectively end all handgun hunting in Illinois. Coupled with SB1722 Safe Neighborhoods Reform Tech, a bill seeking to drastically increase the penalties for the use of lead-alternative ammunition and other non-violent firearm offenses, an environmentally aware hunter could easily face a minimum 7 to 14 years in prison. We include only SB1985 in our current Action Alert, and will continue to monitor developments on SB1722.Please help us keep Illinois on the right course by filing witness slips on the bills listed below.Hearings will occur in a variety of committees as early as the morning ofMarch 7, 2017.Don’t delay!File Witness Slips Now!To avoid having to complete each field manually, Log on to your ILGA Dashboard (or Create a New Account if you have not already done so) then return to this email and click on the links for each witness slip. If you do not wish to create an account, simply click on each witness slip link and complete the required fields manually:I, IDENTIFICATION: Enter your personal information. Enter “NA” for the Firm/Business or Agency and Title fields unless you are officially representing an organization.II. REPRESENTATION: Enter “Myself” unless representing an organization.III. POSITION: Unless instructed otherwise for a particular bill leave the description field at its default value “Original Bill”. Indicate your position by selecting the “Proponent” or “Opponent” radio button.IV. TESTIMONY: Select the “Record of Appearance Only” radio button.If filing manually, complete the Captcha challenge and agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement.Then click Create Slip.
OpposeSB1291 Lethal Order of Protection – OPPONENTHB1810 Use Tax Firearms – OPPONENTSB1985 Wildlife Lead Ammunition Ban – OPPONENTHB2541 Gun Dealer Licensing – OPPONENTHB2720 FOID Private Sale Ban – OPPONENTHB2722 Firearm Mental Health Eval – OPPONENTHB2833 Multiple Sale of Firearm Restrict – OPPONENTHB3390 FOID Revoke Stolen Firearms – OPPONENTHB3734 Assault Weapons Ban – OPPONENTHB3873 FOID Self Incrimination – OPPONENT
SupportHB2599 Preempt Handgun Local Reg – PROPONENTHB2684 Concealed Carry Public Trans – PROPONENTHB2823 Wildlife Carry While Hunting – PROPONENTHB3429 Preempt Local Taxes & Fees – PROPONENTHB3835 FOID Record Destruction – PROPONENTWitness slips can be tracked here:SB1291 Lethal Order of Protection – OPPONENTHB1810 Use Tax Firearms – OPPONENTSB1985 Wildlife Lead Ammunition Ban – OPPONENTHB2541 Gun Dealer Licensing – OPPONENTHB2599 Preempt Handgun Local Reg – PROPONENTHB2684 Concealed Carry Public Transport – PROPONENTHB2720 FOID Act Private Sale Ban – OPPONENTHB2722 Firearm Offense Ment Health Eval – OPPONENTHB2823 Wildlife Carry While Hunting – PROPONENTHB2833 Multiple Sale of Firearms Restrict – OPPONENTHB3390 FOID Revoke Stolen Firearms – OPPONENTHB3429 Preempt Local Taxes & Fees – PROPONENTHB3734 Assault Weapons Ban – OPPONENTHB3835 FOID Record Destruction – PROPONENTHB3873 FOID Self Incrimination – OPPONENT
Hope the folks turn out! Bills like that are an end around to a defacto gun ban.