Once again, gun-grabbing Illinois politicians are leading the charge in the never-ending campaign to abolish private firearm ownership. This time around, Reps. Robin Kelly (D-2) and Mike Quigley (D-5) have joined forces to sponsor the so-called “Good Neighbor Gun Dealer Act” (H.R. 3569). If signed into law, this bill would authorize the Justice Department to issue “Good Neighbor” certificates to licensed firearm dealers who adhere to a pointless “code of conduct.” Of course, the criteria within the specified code of conduct would not impact violent crime and, like all gun control measures, would serve only to make life difficult for firearm dealers and their law-abiding customers.
One need not read too far into H.R. 3569 to realize that the real intent of the bill is lurking in Section 4, entitled “Disclosure of Firearm Trace Data.” If H.R. 3569 is enacted, the Justice Department would be authorized to publicly release the personal information belonging to untold millions of lawful firearm owners. Such would constitute an unprecedented breach of privacy executed solely for retribution against citizens who dare to own firearms.
“Gun owners aren’t as stupid as Kelly and Quigley think we are,” commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. “This bill is just another in a long line of proposals designed to harass law-abiding gun owners while giving violent criminals a pass. It’s amazing that Kelly and Quigley would think that firearm dealers would place any value on a ‘good neighbor’ certificate. In fact, any gun dealer appearing on a Justice Department ‘good neighbor’ list would be branded as a ‘sellout’ subject to boycott.”
“If Kelly and Quigley really cared about violent crime, they’d spend their valuable time crafting a Good Neighbor Street Gang Act,” continued Pearson. “Such a law would allow Kelly and Quigley to personally award good neighbor certificates to gang bangers who stopped shooting up the streets of Chicago.”
“We don’t expect H.R. 3569 to get far in this Congress,” concluded Pearson. “Nevertheless, we will be encouraging our members to light up the Capitol switchboard with expressions of disapproval of this blatant attack on law-abiding gun owners.”
The ISRA is the state’s leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of lawful Illinois firearm owners.
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