In the News.
Source: U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance
Law enforcement officials in Illinois have proposed regulations that will prohibit young people from partaking in hunting and other firearm-related activities.
The Illinois State Police (ISP) has submitted a proposal to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) that will prohibit anyone under 10 years of age from obtaining an Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID). All Illinois residents who buy or possess firearms are required to have a valid FOID card. The proposal appears to be the department’s knee-jerk reaction to anti-hunting/anti-gun activists who responded with hysterics after reading a satirical article that made light of how easily a newborn could obtain a FOID.
The ISP’s proposal has drawn the ire of sportsmen. It denies parents of the right to decide when and how children get involved in hunting and shooting sports. If the age restriction is put in place, it will delay the entry of successive generations into the hunting heritage and lead to a decline in the sportsmen’s community.
“Research shows that in states with hunting age restrictions, the recruitment and retention ratio of new hunters is lower than in states that do not have such restrictions,” said Bud Pidgeon, USSA president. “At present, Illinois does not have a minimum hunting age, and we would like to see it stay that way.”
The JCAR is an administrative body responsible for reviewing and considering proposed regulations. Prior to considering proposed regulations, JCAR must observe a 45-day public comment period during which citizens may submit written comments.
USSA will submit official comments to JCAR early next week. Illinois sportsmen should keep an eye to your e-mail for an action alert.
Tags: Illinois Hunting, Firearm Restriction, Young Hunters, Illinois State Police, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance
5 comments:
I'm not sure where the proposed changes to the FOID would prohibit young hunters. As long as the hunter is with an FOID-carrying parent, they are allowed to posess a firearm and ammunition.
I can't see this change making it to the books, or lasting very long if it did. Denying an FOID based on age effectivly nullifies a constitutional right. The states simply don't have that authority.
For me the troubling aspect here is that research has shown that as soon too much red tape is involved young people either don’t want to hunt or give up hunting. This fact has been realized here in my home province and the government made sweeping changes to make hunting easier accessible from lowering the age when children can go hunting to ending mandatory hunter education courses.
I have lived in Illinois for almost ten years. I got on friendly terms with the sheriff, he was a hunter too, and he often told me how hard the liberals try to sneak gun legislation in trough the backdoor. Of course lowering the age to own guns is an infringement on federal law. But states are known to try it anyways and the other way around too. The federal government has often tried in the past to infringe upon state laws. Politics is a dirty business. A smart man once said that politics and prostitution are the same with the only difference one is legal the other not.
-ov-
Wow... I definitely hope this bill gets squashed. After all the progress so many states have made in getting youth hunters more involved it makes me wonder exactly what Illinois is thinking. Obviously someone, somewhere has an agenda they are trying to push through.
Illinois is run by the liberals, that right there should be an explanation for the hunter unfriendly stance they seem to adopt.
-ov-
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