SPRINGFIELD – "Imagine if a family member or a police officer had it in for you. In the blink of an eye, you could be stripped of your rights without any due process, simply because someone accused you of something with absolutely no evidence to validate the claim…"
That's a scenario a bill scheduled to be heard next week in Illinois' Senate Judiciary Committee would set up, Sons of Liberty Media is reporting.
"Illinois State Senator Julie Morrison (D-29) has proposed a bill that would allow the government to confiscate firearms from gun owners without any due process," the website says. The proposal is SB 1291.
While the Illinois State Rifle Association doesn't sound an alert about SB 1291 on their website, the National Rifle Association called on Illinois members to contact their state lawmakers about the bill before the hearing was postponed to heard March 14th.
"SB 1291 would allow an individual’s family members or law enforcement to petition the court for an ex parte restraining order if they consider the individual to be a danger to themselves or others simply because the individual owns, possesses or purchases a firearm," the NRA's website explains. "According to the summary of the bill, an ex parte order would be issued by a judge based solely on a brief, unsubstantiated affidavit made by a petitioner and absent any input made by the individual on which the order is targeted."
If enacted, the NRA says, this SB 1291 would require the surrender of FOID cards, concealed carry licenses as well as the seizure of all firearms by law enforcement.
"This legislation is ripe for abuse by individuals that disagree with the Second Amendment, and the mere insinuation that gun ownership makes you a danger to yourself or others is offensive and insulting," the NRA says.
The sponsor and co-sponsors of the measure are Democrat Senators Julie A. Morrison – Jacqueline Y. Collins – Ira I. Silverstein, Toi W. Hutchinson, Kwame Raoul, Daniel Biss, Heather A. Steans, Cristina Castro, Iris Y. Martinez, Terry Link, Antonio Muñoz and Patricia Van Pelt .