Reducing Illinois gun violence

Illinois is one of two states with permiting requirements that allows individuals to apply for their license online or by mail. Illinois also does not require applicants to undergo any training prior to application. The state also does not mandate, as some states do, that individuals seeking to buy a firearm from a private seller who is not a licensed gun dealer pass a background check; private sellers are only required to check if the prospective purchaser’s FOID is vaild. Illinois FOIDs are valid for 10 years, but if private sellers fail to verify that a prospective purchaser’s FOID is valid, current law provides no criminal penalties.

The individual who shot and killed five people last Friday in Aurora, Illinois was reportedly prohibited from owning a firearm. According to media accounts, he was approved for a FOID card after passing a background check and was able to purchase a firearm despite having a felony conviction; Illinois’ FOID application does not require fingerprinting. When he later applied for a concealed carry permit, which requires fingerprinting, state officials discovered the prohibiting condition.

“Illinois arguably has the weakest of all handgun purchaser licensing laws,” says report co-author Daniel Webster, ScD, MPH, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. “Strengthening this existing law to require an in-person application with fingerprinting, requiring the police to conduct a background check while verifying the FOID card and requiring more frequent renewal of licensing would be a wise investment in public safety.”

Illinois law does not require law enforcement to remove firearms when gun owners are identified as prohibited after a FOID card has been issued. The report recommends that if individuals are later identified as prohibited and fail to surrender their FOID and/or firearms upon notice of revocation, law enforcement should dispossess these prohibited individuals of their firearms.

In addition to strengthening the state’s purchaser licensing law and identifying promising new legislation, the authors underscored the importance of robust enforcement of new state laws that regulate retail gun sellers and create a process for removing firearms from people planning to harm themselves or others through court-ordered extreme risk protection orders.

Other evidence-based recommendations include modifying existing domestic violence-related firearm prohibitions to last the length of the order or two years; extending firearm prohibition to individuals convicted of multiple alcohol-related offenses; providing law enforcement discretion to deny concealed carry licenses to those identified as legal but dangerous; banning the sale and possession of new assault weapons and requiring current assault weapon owners to register them; banning the possession of large-capacity magazines (more than 10 rounds); and providing funding to support community programs such as focused deterrence, outreach and conflict mediation involving high-risk individuals.

“Addressing gun violence requires a comprehensive evidence-based approach encompassing enforcement of exisiting laws, strengthening of current laws identified as weak, adoption of new evidence-based laws and funding for violence prevention programs,” says Crifasi. “By considering the policy recommendations put forth in this report, Illinois has an opportunity to decrease their rates of firearm homicide and suicide, and serve as a model for other states seeking to reduce the toll of gun violence in their communities.”

— Read more in Cassandra K. Crifasi et al., “Policies to Reduce Gun Violence in Illinois: Research, Policy Analysis, and Recommendations,” Center for Gun Policy and Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (February 2019)