More than half of Illinois’ 2,351 federally licensed gun dealers haven’t applied for state licenses required by the new Illinois’ Firearm Dealer License Certification Act, which takes effect today.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the state’s Firearm Dealer License Certification Act on Jan. 18 after taking office. Lawmakers held the measure over from the previous General Assembly after former Gov. Bruce Rauner vowed to veto it.
Rauner previously had vetoed a similar bill, saying it would lead to small businesses closing and make it harder for people to legally buy firearms.
The law Pritzker signed added regulations for gun stores that business owners have said are too burdensome. The law requires gun stores, including pawnshops that want to sell firearms, to have a state license on top of a federal license.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported in June that there were 2,351 licensed dealers in Illinois. Illinois State Police officials said Monday that 1,140 applications for state licenses were submitted. That’s a difference of 1,211, or more than half the federally licensed dealers in the state. However, it’s unclear how many of those 1,211 federal license holders are brick-and-mortar retailers. The vast majority of dealers impacted are expected to be small operations.
Several gun stores have announced that they planned to close because of the new law.
“As we expected, this was never about accountability, or regulating an industry, it was about driving gun dealers out of business and making it harder for people to have access to their Second Amendment rights,” Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois Executive Director Todd Vandermyde said.
“I’m thrilled 1,100 gun dealers have applied,” said state Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Brook, who sponsored the measure. “I think it’s a real success.”
Harmon said it’s too early to comment about reports of gun dealers that already have closed or have decided to stop selling firearms.
“I don’t think we have the facts to reach that conclusion,” Harmon said, noting he hasn’t seen the entire list. “A lot of the (Federal Firearms License) holders are kitchen-table dealers, someone who’s engaged in the transaction on a limited basis. It would make sense for them to not seek certification” as the process continues to unfold.
The state-run World Shooting Complex in Sparta is exempt from the law.
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