By: Teresa Mull
When one thinks of getting fingerprinted, it’s usually being done to a criminal after he or she is arrested. Not so in Illinois.
To purchase a gun legally in Illinois, a person must first apply for a FOID (Firearms Owner Identification) card. Lawmakers have been pushing recently to add a requirement that would-be gun owners submit their fingerprints before they’re issued a FOID.
But in recent months, the FOID system – surprise, surprise – is backlogged. So the benevolent lawmakers have decided to make the fingerprinting process optional and to team-up with other agencies that already have people’s fingerprints on file.
“Many applicants have waited months well beyond the 30 days the state has to process the applications,” reports Just The News.
That’s 30-plus days these people have been sitting ducks, prevented from defending themselves, while government bureaucracy does what it does best: nothing.
If Illinois were serious about clearing up the backlog, the state would do what Texas just did: do away with the licensing requirement all together and adopt Constitutional Carry.
Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.