Today, Governor Pat Quinn signed into law House Bill 3500. Introduced by state Representative Richard Morthland (R-71) and sponsored by state Senator Kirk Dillard (R-24), this new statute makes the necessary reform to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to ensure that the personal information of those who have applied for or received a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card shall not be disclosed unless necessary as part of a criminal investigation. HB 3500 passed in the state House on April 8 by a 98 to 12 vote and in the state Senate on May 20 by a 42 to 1 vote.
The FOIA amendments in HB 3500 became necessary after an opinion on February 28 issued by anti-gun Attorney General Lisa Madigan in which she declared that the Illinois State Police (ISP) must release the personal information of every law-abiding gun owner in Illinois to the Associated Press (AP). Since the mid-1960’s, the ISP has maintained a database with all FOID information, and has considered this material to be confidential and not subject to disclosure as public information. The AP had previously filed a FOIA request for this very information. Enactment of HB 3500 was essential to protect your rights as a gun owner and to ensure that your personal information will stay confidential, and not provided to those who have no right to have it.
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