Don't worry though, we are not closing our doors anytime soon. In late August, the Illinois State Police issued proposed rules for the Firearm Dealer License Certification Act, which Governor Pritzker signed into law in January. You can review the rules they proposed for yourself, although it is 29 pages long, and let us know what you think.
The Act went into effect this summer but, as of now, not a single FFL has been issued a certificate. Even before any rules have been published, Illinois is losing FFL's. From September 2018 to September 2019 the number of Illinois Type 01 (retail and gunsmith) FFL's have dropped form 2,049, to 1,700.
Today is the last day of the first comment period on these rules. Please consider filing your comments with ISP, and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR).
The process is simple: email ISP and FFL-IL today and express your concerns that these rules will continue to drive IL FFL's out of business, denying you your right to own firearms.
ISP email: ISP.Rulemaking@illinois.gov
FFL-IL email: comments@fflil.org
FFL-IL has requested public hearings and will bring all comments received.
The first 45 day comment period is coming to a close, and we expect public hearings soon. All of these comments will be sent to the Illinois General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) to open up another 45-day comment period. Once the comment periods are over, JCAR can either approve and adopt the new rules, or request new changes.
Angrily calling for lawsuits against the state might make people feel good, and they may in time yield a favorable outcome, but the immediate need is to stop this rule set from becoming law.
Please offer your comments, and please support the efforts of FFL-IL, which is deeply engaged in pushing back on this mess. Thank you everyone who has read this far, we truly appreciate your concerns and involvement in this debacle.