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U.S. NEWS Friday 18 January 2019
Gov. Pritzker signs bill allowing

Illinois to license gun dealers

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — for gun dealers to do busi- gun is in the dealer's inven-
Gov. J.B. Pritzker authorized ness in Illinois, which is going tory or has been sold, not
state regulation of firearms to hurt the smaller dealers. examining patterns or reg-
dealers Thursday in a rever- "The action taken today is ularity of purchases.
sal of his predecessor's pol- another assault on our 2nd "We can't think that this bill,
icy and prompting a gun Amendment rights." however important it is, is
owners group to threaten Pritzker, who already this the solution," Harmon said. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker holds paperwork after he signed
legal action against Illinois. week reversed course on "It will help but there's more legislation that requires gun stores to get state licenses, Thursday,
Pritzker, sworn in on Mon- GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner's work to be done."q Jan. 17, 2019 at Young Elementary School in Chicago.
day, chose an elementary policies toward labor with Associated Press
school in Chicago to sign pro-union action, said gun-
legislation meant to cut rights organizations are "just
down on illegal purchases wrong" in their criticism of
of firearms through video the licensing bill. He add-
monitoring, tighter inven- ed, "I'm going to continue
tory control and gun-shop to make sure that we're
employee training. standing up to the voices
"We can prevent some- like the Illinois State Rifle As-
one from buying a gun for sociation and the National
someone else who is not Rifle Association to protect
legally allowed to own a our families and our chil-
gun," said Pritzker, stand- dren."
ing next to Chicago Po- Lawmakers endorsed the
lice Superintendent Eddie idea twice last year. Raun-
Johnson, whose force con- er vetoed the first version
fiscated 10,000 illegal guns in March. Democrats who
last year. "Many of the inci- control the General As-
dents of gun violence that sembly, led by Sen. Don
occur in our city and all Harmon of Oak Park, OK'd
across our state occur with it again in May but never
illegal guns." sent it to Rauner for consid-
The law affects about 2,400 eration.
firearms dealers and its "Thank you for figuring out
provisions take effect in six in four days what some oth-
months. Each must show it er people couldn't figure
is licensed with the federal out in four years," Chicago
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobac- Mayor Rahm Emanuel said
co, Firearms and Explosives to Pritzker. "You don't need
and purchase a five-year a Ph.D. from Harvard to
state permit — $1,500 for figure out that if you're go-
retail shops and $300 for in- ing to regulate a barber
dependent dealers. Each shop and a bar, maybe
must install videotaping in you should regulate a gun
retail sections of the store, dealer."
maintain an electronic in- Harmon, who first intro-
ventory and require annual duced the idea in 2003,
employee training in spot- said the law is more about
ting so-called straw pur- allowing the state to gath-
chases. er information on straw
The Illinois State Rifle Asso- purchases through video
ciation promised a lawsuit monitoring and electronic
challenging the plan. inventory and sales records
"The federal government than it is about punishing
already licenses gun deal- dealers. While the ATF au-
ers. There is no need to dits gun shops, Harmon
add yet another layer of said the federal agency
bureaucracy on gun deal- has fewer than two dozen
ers," executive director agents to oversee all of Il-
Richard Pearson said in a linois' dealers. He contend-
statement. "The only thing ed audits occur only once
this measure is going to do every three to five years
is make it cost more money and only verify whether a

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