Springfield, Illinois –-(Ammoland.com)- A new law in Illinois requires gun dealers to be licensed by the state.
Becoming a legal gun dealer is not an easy task. The prospective dealer has to apply with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (BATF). The application process is not simple to navigate. Most dealers pay for expensive packages from companies to learn how to deal with just the application process.
The applicant must provide the BATF with passport pictures, fingerprints, and the ATF will submit their information to the FBI for a criminal background check. This step is just the beginning. The new business also has to provide other things such as articles of incorporation, zoning information, a lease that states that the building owner lets the dealer sell firearms, and copy of their business licenses.
The BATF will send an agent out to the new business to inspect the facility to make sure the dealer secures the firearms by lock and key. The BATF agent will then interview the dealer about their business. The ATF will consider everything and issue a Federal Firearms License (FFL) or deny the application.
This lengthy process is about to get longer for any FFL located in the state of Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law into effect that would require all gun dealers to be licensed by the state as well. This new process is leading the business owners to cry foul.
The dealers must seek a state license that is certified by the State Police. The dealer must provide annual training to all their employees to be able to spot straw purchases. A straw purchase is when one person buys a gun for someone else who is usually not allowed to own a firearm.
All gun dealers must install expensive security cameras and must record all activities within the retail section of the stores. These recordings must be made available to State Police upon request.
Gone will be the days of dealers using the popular log books that most tabletop dealers use to keep track of their firearms. The new law would require all dealers to use electronic logbooks. These digital logbook programs can get costly and can be complicated to install. Also, some dealers have thousands of sales that they will have to transfer to the new system.
Under the new law, the gun dealer must allow inspections of their business by not only state police, but also by local police departments. These inspections are in addition to the surprise inspections that are performed by the ATF.
The license will cost $1,500 for retail stores and $300 for tabletop dealers. The dealers must renew their license every five years. The 2,400 dealers in the state of Illinois will have six months to get the new license.
The anti-gun group, Moms Demand Action, celebrated the passage of the anti-gun law. The law is just one of the many rules that the anti-gun group has been pushing to make it costlier and more difficult to buy and sell guns.
“We feel like celebrating,” said Karen Irvin of Moms Demand Action. “It’s been a major focus for Moms Demand Action. We spent the summer with a push for electing J.B. Pritzker as our gun-sense candidate, and we knew that there was a great likelihood that he would not only support this measure, but he would move to enact it. We canvassed our neighborhoods, made phone calls, and it was something we believe in and think it’s important.”
Gun dealers across the state believe the new law was passed just to make it harder to sell the guns. The margins on firearms are already low so by adding more cost of the price of doing business it could put dealers out of business.
The Illinois State Rifle Association is planning a lawsuit challenging the new law.
“The federal government already licenses gun dealers,” executive director Richard Pearson of The Illinois State Rifle Association said in a statement. “There is no need to add yet another layer of bureaucracy on gun dealers. The only thing this measure is going to do is make it cost more money for gun dealers to do business in Illinois, which is going to hurt the smaller dealers.”
The Illinois State Rifle Association views the new law as an attack on the Second Amendment.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%'ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on leftist deplatforming methods and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, on Facebook at realjohncrump, or at www.crumpy.com.
FACT. $1500 is the Illinois fee for the certification for retail dealers. Each certification shall be valid for the term of the license (meaning your FFL) being certified. This is NOT for 5 years! EXAMPLE: If an FFL license expires in August 2019, the FFL will be required to pay $1500 twice! $1500 on or before June 2019 to comply with the gun dealers bill deadline and again when the FFL license is renewed in August 2019. Certification from Illinois is on good for the term of the FFL meaning 3 years. Talk about government extortion.
i need to renuewmy license
1. The State Of IL should cut about the Number Of Retailers Smaller Gun Stores shroud be 2000 F.F.L.s (01)& (02) Regular F.F.L.s Dealers Store Fronts Smaller Stores is just to many too! They need to be Cut down too !I agree!! Holders Gun Stores too! Cut off Renewals Applications is Cancelled out too! Reason is There is high Crime in Chicago City too! I agree! Lets Leave The Number of Gun Dealers By the Population if the State Of IL too! The Federal Laws says is regulations is: One Gun Dealer Store Front Per every population of People of… Read more »
Is engrish your second language dingbat?
1. The State of ILL need to change it State Law to tell State Assembly members Elected to State Office to Change the Law to Melt those Crime Guns back to a Still Mill Plant too! The State Senate members are elected too. to vote to a decisions need needed too. Change the Law too Answer is to solution is! P.S . (They should melt those Guns Down: too! In a Steel Plant melts liquid metal too! I agree!!! Reason is to turn them to re bars Steel Strips too. They should move on ti now! Before is They will… Read more »
1. There is to many of the Smaller F.F.L.Dealers Retailers Are Smaller Gun Stores is:(01)&(02) too. They need to reduce the number of smaller Gun Stores Businesses too. I do agree! Sir? & Man? The State of ILL has to many Smaller Gun Dealers Retailers Stores is Class-1 is (01) & Class-2 is (02) too! The Number count is 2446 F.F.L.s too! Complaint is : Lets Act on it now!!! Go!!!This way to many of them too! Why? The A.T.F. Needs to cut down the number of F.F.L. .Applications down by 0.90 % Renewals too! Only allow by O.10 %… Read more »
Please post this and share, http://batr.org/utopia/090418.html
Also how does the worlds militaries / governments justify themselves
when the people cannot have firearms for personal protection ?
So when are they going take this crap to court? When are citizens going to realize they are being dupped into lawsuits when the state knows they are wrong and they are paying for it. The sheeple are not smart enough to know that it’s their money. This is discrimination against people that are exercising a civil right.
DOWNSTATE SECEDE! Chicago democrat socialist corrupt machine is the cause of all of Illinois problems! All of Illinois south of I 80 should secede and form a new state. Upstate New York and northern KaliforniKa should do the same
Unfortunate for our fellow legitimate firearms owners and dealers in IL.
Hope the lawsuit prevails.
The facts state that more than 250,000 people die from cigarettes and alcohol . Why the anti gun groups raising he’ll about that . Oh … probably because most of them smoke and drink .
Does anyone ever ask the Anti-gunner’s “If all the dealers closed tomorrow, will Illinois be safer, have less guns”. It’s just a stupid presumtion Anti’s are using. Drives me crazy.
One simple word spoken by a great man from Wilmette: BULLSHIT
The whole state of Ill. is not a blood bath, mainly the city of Chicago is where corruption and killings occur, mostly. It is a real shame the democrats have destroyed this state right in the middle of our union. Criminals do not care if the gun dealers go out of business because they don’t bother with gun dealers. I would guess that Chicago is so full of illegal guns that it would make your head swim if you knew how many and this new law isn’t going to slow down the killings, whatsoever.
Tick tick tick – the long, slow process to disarming America. They don’t care how long it takes. They have plenty of time. Meanwhile, a chip here, a chunk there, and away go our rights, a tiny little piece at a time, never to be recovered. They are winning and we are letting them.
taqiyya-bama’s dhimmi-rat dream in process: confiscation & extermination
The govenment can and will find ways to prevent all law abiding citizens from owning firearms. It’s the criminals that
get a pass since the government can’t figure out how to stop anything that’s illegal, because for some reason thugs don’t follow the law.
Small dealers with store fronts are shutting down across the state ahead of the new law coming into effect. $1500 for 5 years doesn’t sound bad but it must be paid up front. most small dealers simply don’t have $1500 to spare. Plus the part of the story that was left out was that “ANY” violation is a $10,000 fine. The new state license must be displayed on the wall and if for some reason it falls off the wall and is caught on the new camera system; $10,000 fine. Please understand the fine of $10,000 is per “ANY” violation.… Read more »
Are they going to have the state police do the inspection loading them with even more duties or is the state going to make a new gestapo inspection group taxpayers in the 2nd highest tax state in the country can’t afford. Maybe they should inspect Doctors the same way . There is more medical malpractice than firearms deaths yearly , but the medical lobby is larger and more powerful than the NRA ever dreamed of.
Wisconsin just elected a Democrat Governor & Attorney General. In his inauguration speech Josh Kaul said
his goal is to in act “Red flag laws” and gun registration. Thank god the republicans still hold the majority
in the legislature. Shame on every gun owner who voted Democrat.
Moan Laabe
WHAT HE SAID
Hmmm. I thought all the bad guys’ guns were coming from Indiana and other states with lesser gun laws around Illinois?!?!? SMH…
BATFE could be gone with the stroke of a pen. The co-equal Executive Branch could declare the NFA and GCA unconstitutional, with as much constitutional authority as the Judicial Branch.
How is Pritzker going to get any kickback if he doesn’t impose the redundant regulation he can hold over citizens heads?
This is a guy who removed toilets from his Chicago mansion. He and his buddy assessor declared the place “Uninhabitable” cut millions off the assessment and then reinstalled the toilets.
Illinois will regret electing this clown.
Surprisingly, this article omits that Springfield Armory and Rock River Arms paid a lobbyist to get a carve out exempting them from the Gun Dealers Licensing Act a couple of years ago. They helped through gun dealers under the bus. A bunch of us will remember this.
Surprisingly you drank the kool aid. Springfield Armory and Rock River did no such thing:
https://bearingarms.com/bob-o/2017/05/01/springfield-armory-rock-river-arms-oppose-gun-dealer-licensing-act/
From Springfield’s CEO:
http://concealednation.org/2017/05/springfield-armory-ceo-dennis-reese-statement-regarding-ifma-and-gun-dealer-licensing-act-sb1657/
Rock River:
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/05/daniel-zimmerman/rock-river-arms-statement-ifmas-sb-1657-senate-deal-carve/
Wrong! You should do a little research before condemning good companies:
http://concealednation.org/2017/05/springfield-armory-ceo-dennis-reese-statement-regarding-ifma-and-gun-dealer-licensing-act-sb1657/
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/05/daniel-zimmerman/rock-river-arms-statement-ifmas-sb-1657-senate-deal-carve/
Brought to us by those that wish to enslave us and those unwilling to get in the dirt and fight these authoritarians
Illinois needs to change their motto from “Land Of Lincoln” to Land Of Stalin”.
Lincoln was no different.
Not, “land of Lincoln” change it to Kool aid drinkin’.
We call this the “Illinois Reach Over To Take Our Rights Away”. A governor that has zeroed in on the emotions of the public.
Im sorry people of Illinois, but you get the government you deserve.. people from that state vote for Democrats regardless of how they feel about individual rights.. when you vote for idiots..YOU GET IDIOTS! plain and simple.. sometimes you just have to become a one issue voter, especially if you care about your 2nd Amendment rights.. a person can’t vote for a Democrat and expect to have any second amendment rights protection..GUN OWNERS STOP PULLING THE DAMN “D” LEVER!!
Democrat socialist are voted in by the illegitimate state of Chicago. If you look at a map of Illinois in the last POTUS election you will see a red state with a small pocket of highly populated areas that are blue
They were called City States in Ancient times.
OUT of BUSINESS is what their Driving for !
Less Legal Dealers (to them) = less guns on the street !
They don’t care that most guns involved with crime are ,
illegally gotten anyway .
Do the state LEO’s but from in state sources? Those would be the first people to not sell thing to.