IL Gun Owners Can't Win

It's kind of funny being a gun owner in a state like Illinois. See, when you follow all of the rules and submit the appropriate paperwork, you can still be arrested and charged with a felony. Those of you used to living in free states might wonder how that can happen if you are following the law. Well, when the government workers aren't capable of getting the paperwork processed, the gun owner becomes a felon.

An untold number of Illinois gun owners may be unwittingly breaking state law because of a paperwork backlog at the Illinois State Police.
State officials acknowledged Friday that a rush of applications and a decline in staffing has resulted in a significant delay in processing Firearm Owner Identification cards.
That means any gun owner whose new card or renewed card hasn't yet arrived in the mail is committing a felony.
“They are technically in violation at that point,” agreed state police spokesman Lincoln Hampton.
While Hampton said it would be possible for police to charge gun owners for not having FOID cards - even though it's the state's fault - he stressed that law enforcement officials always have the discretion to determine whether a citation is warranted. (Emphasis added.)

Does the fact that the cops have discretion really make any attempting-to-be-lawful gun owners feel any better? In my experience, no. The same crap happened in Massachusetts a few years ago. They were months behind, with some gun owners reporting waiting more than 9 months for their renewals to be processed. All the while, they either had to ditch their guns with a licensed friend or dealer or take a chance and hope that the authorities wouldn't prosecute since it was the state's fault.

Posted by Bitter at January 9, 2006 07:08 AM | TrackBack