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| University FOID Card Bill Fails in IL House |
(IRN)-Will Illinois strip students in secondary schools or universities who exhibit "erratic behavior" of their gun ownership rights? Not yet. A bill failed Tuesday in the Illinois House that would revoke college kids of their Firearm Owner's Identification, or FOID, cards if school administrators felt their behavior was problematic.
Bill sponsor Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) pulled the bill after several concerns from other representatives. State Representative Will Davis (D-Chicago) asked Cunningham a question most representatives had. "Where does it speak to what erratic behavior is anywhere in this (bill)?" he asked.
Cunningham responded, "It talks about making threatening statements and acting violently and of course those type of incidents would have to be reported to the administration and the administration would have to report it to the local police department, who would have to investigate it, find them credible and report them to the State Police."
State Police would then determine if the student's behavior warranted revoking or placing a hold on that student's ability to get a FOID card.
"I didn't say that this would prevent things…from happening," said Cunningham. "I said this would merely give schools a path to follow to help make their campuses safer."
Some representatives wondered whether a trained professional at the university should be involved in determining what "erratic behavior" is. The bill only calls for the university administration to make that determination. Another concern involved a provision that would make the university immune from legal liability for bringing a student's behavior to the attention of law enforcement.
Cunningham says State Police have the ability to revoke FOID cards now, but that his measure provides universities with a pathway for addressing potentially violent students. Earlier this month, Cunningham said the bill was inspired in part by Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect in the shooting spree in Tucson, Arizona in January that left 13 wounded and six dead. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was one of the 13 injured.
Cunningham's bill is HB1461.
(Source: Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 03 29 11 by Newsroom |
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