Rep. Davis Introduces Gun Registration Legislation

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Rep. Will Davis (D-East Hazel Crest) is sponsoring a piece of legislation that will require firearm owners to register their handguns in a statewide database that is supervised by the Illinois State Police.
Rep. Will Davis (D-East Hazel Crest) is sponsoring a piece of legislation that will require firearm owners to register their handguns in a statewide database that is supervised by the Illinois State Police.

Last Wednesday, state Rep. William Davis (D-East Hazel Crest) helped pass legislation from the House Executive Committee that would create a statewide registration requirement for gun owners.

House Bill 5831 would form a statewide handgun registration method and call for individuals to file each handgun they own in a statewide database supervised by the Illinois State Police (ISP). Under the proposal, failing to report the transfer of a handgun within 72 hours to the ISP, or failing to register a newly acquired handgun within 20, days would result in being charged with a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500. Moreover, it provides that a federally licensed firearm dealers failure to register a handgun on the buyers behalf within 20 days would also result in the dealer being charge with a Class A misdemeanor.

I believe registering firearms will help our efforts to keep guns off the street and to ensure stolen firearms are returned to their rightful owners, Davis, the bills chief House sponsor said in a statement. I look forward to pushing this bill through the Legislature as we can take another step towards keeping our community safe.

Davis told the Chicago Citizen that there is a method in place to document gun sales in Illinois but there is not currently a registration system in effect.

Theres a process in place that when guns are sold that you have to document and keep record of the sale of handguns, the representative said. It doesnt necessarily require the gun to be registered.

According to Davis, the bill originally set a $65 registration fee; however, a proposed amendment was filed by another bill sponsor to lower the fee to $20. The registration system will be computerized and portions of the fee will go to the ISP for database maintenance.

If the bill is made law, Davis said it would help curb crime in the Southland by tracking firearms.

I think the idea is to be able to track guns, he said. When guns are stolen and consequently they may be used in [connection] with a crime, if the police are fortunate enough to recover that gun then at least you can trace it back to an owner.

The representative said that even if a firearm is shared between a group of people that if one person in the group can be identified it may lead to the apprehension of a person who used the weapon in criminal activity.

Davis said the legislation is not seeking to take away rights from citizens but looks to help strengthen the quality of life in Illinois.

I just want people to know that the objective here is not to try to infringe upon the rights of gun owners, he said. It does not dictate how many guns you can own, it is simply asking you to register every handgun that you own. If people cooperate with the intent of this, it should help in the fight against gun violence in the state of Illinois.

House Bill 5831 is now on the House floor for further deliberation.

By Thelma Sardin

Twitter: @thelmasardin

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