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Current law allows for those with an OP against them to
relinquish their firearms to a third party that has a valid
Firearm Owners ID card. A proposed measure from Democrats,
including state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, would require police to
confiscate firearms in such cases. Hirschauer said the focus is
on a “dangerous point in time.”
“Where petitioners are worried for their safety and law
enforcement and judges need clarity to go in there and take guns
away from dangerous people,” Hirschauer told The Center Square.
Illinois Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Jim Kaitschuk
said law enforcement cares deeply about victims of domestic
violence, but they have concerns about the bill.
“We’re just making sure that as part of this process that what
we’re doing is giving due process to all those people involved,”
Kaitschuk told The Center Square.
Not only are there due process and officer safety concerns,
Kaitschuk said there are concerns about the limited storage
space law enforcement agencies have to store confiscated
firearms.
“Under this scenario we would then be taking all of these
weapons and in some cases there are a lot of emergency orders of
protections that are issued,” he said.
Pushing for her measure to require police to confiscate such
firearms, Hirschauer said she is hopeful the measure will get
across the finish line during veto session.
“We anticipate that the final week of veto will be incredibly
jam packed, but we are still moving forward with conversations
because it is such an important piece of legislation,” she said.
Both the Illinois House and Senate are off next week. They
return for the final three days of session Nov. 7.
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