Support the Illinois Airgun Bill!

I'm afraid I can't individually accept the blame for my state's political woes. But I can try to create positive change. That's why I continued to write my congressmen, why there is currently a bill in the senate, and why I hope others wanting positive change will help make it happen instead of hoping it to happen. There is no gain on dwelling on the negative.

I will lose every time I make no attempt at change.

SB2583 has now been assigned to the Judiciary committee. The bill has to be passed out of this committee in order to even have a chance at a floor vote. So right now we have to convince this committee to pass the bill on. You can find the committee member list at http://www.ilga.gov/senate/committees/members.asp?CommitteeID=1944&GA=100

Let's do it!

Update on SB2583 - This bill is still alive but it needs our help! We need to convince the Judiciary committee to give it a hearing so we can keep it alive and moving.

The sequence of steps as I understand it:

1. The Judiciary committee has to grant a hearing for the bill to hear its case and debate it. I believe Senator McCann has to speak on our behalf in this hearing, but any and all "witnesses" that are willing to physically show up and speak can add to the effectiveness of the testimony. A few notes about this:
a. I don't believe the committee is required to give every bill a hearing, so a bill can die without ever leaving committee.
b. After the hearing, the committee has to vote to pass the bill to the full senate for a vote. If they vote it down, it dies.
c. As for my part specifically, I would love to show up in person and testify. But the bill can be assigned a hearing with just a day or two notice, and as a field engineer I am typically far away and can't possibly plan for a trip that quickly. So if anyone is in a position to be able to make it to Springfield on a day or two notice when a hearing date is assigned, a physical presence could really make the difference for our case. And bring friends. According to Senator McCann a witness normally just has to speak a few minutes before everyone gets distracted, so very direct comments about why the bill should be passed is best. After that it is just answering whatever questions the judiciary committee can think up.
d. The bill now shows a "rule 2-10" committee deadline of April 27. I could think of several things that could mean, but I will try to get a proper answer before I speculate. But until I know for sure, I assume this means we have a limited time to get our work done.

2. If the bill passes committee, then it goes to the full senate for a floor vote. Just as in the judiciary, I don't believe it is required that every bill introduced actually gets open for debate. That is when we will need to really reach out to our state senators state wide. 

3. If it gets debated and passed in the senate, I think from there it goes to the governor's desk. I believe if we can get it that far we will have a touchdown, but it still looks like a million miles away.

So we can't quit playing yet, it's only the second quarter...or the third inning...or the fifth Tour de France stage...pick your metaphor. 

The immediate goal right now is to convince the judiciary committee that we must have that hearing. The political climate in Illinois has really soured this year for anything related to firearms, so I have really been driving the distinctions that separate airguns from firearms. (short range, low energy, bump stocks don't work, etc.) Also, don't expect these folks to know anything about airguns or even Illinois airgun law (ironic, yes?).

Here is a link to the bill's web page. If you click the Judiciary committee link, it opens up to show all its members. 
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?GA=100&DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=2583&GAID=14&SessionID=91&LegID=109560

I got more information on the "Rule 2-10" deadline. Essentially the bill would have already died. But Senator filed for, and was granted an extension that goes until April 27. If we can get the bill passed out of committee by April 27, it continues to live and, we might be able to get it to a senate vote. But if we can't get it out of committee by April 27 then it's game over.

So, let's get to work and see if we can convince the judiciary committee to pass the bill by April 27!