Illinois lawmakers are set to return to Springfield in less than a month for a special session, and gun control activists are urging the state's Democratic majority to use that time to enshrine several new gun measures into law. 

As the Center Square's Greg Bishop reports, the package of bills being pushed by the Gun Violence Prevention PAC are largely tweaks to gun control laws that are already in place. But these aren't exactly minor changes. 

House Bill 5891, from state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, would increase the age to 18 from 14 for when a firearm must be secured inside a location where a minor is present. Leaving in place that a firearm must be placed in a securely locked box or container, the proposal strikes a provision from law that a firearm can be “placed in some other locations that a responsible person would believe to be secure from a minor.” 

“We must act to prevent access to deadly weapons by minors and people who should not have access to guns,” Hirschauer said in a statement. 

A similar bill is Senate Bill 3971. 

Illinois State Rifle Association lobbyist Ed Sullivan said the proposal also requires firearms be locked up if there are any “prohibited persons” in the residence. 

“Anybody in the state of Illinois that does not have a [Firearm Owner’s ID] card is a prohibited person,” Sullivan told The Center Square. “And so there’s over 10 million people that are prohibited persons [in Illinois]. There’s no criminal damage. They're not criminals. They’re not mentally challenged. They just don’t have a FOID card.”

Sullivan notes that lawmakers could use some carrots instead of sticks if they want to encourage gun owners to keep their firearms locked up; providing tax credits for gun safes, for example. But the Democrats in control of the state capitol have shown no appetite for non-punitive measures, at least when it comes to lawful gun owners. Instead, they're subjecting Illinois residents to more and more mandates aimed at curtailing their Second Amendment rights. 

That includes proposed changes to the state's "lost or stolen" law, which currently requires gun owners to report the loss of a firearm to police within 72 hours of its disappearance. HB 5888 would reduce that time to 48 hours, but the ISRA lobbyist says the real danger comes with some proposed amendments to the bill. 

Sullivan said such requirements are unworkable. What will advance, if anything, is unclear, as some other provisions Sullivan has seen floated would increase liability for victims of stolen firearms if their stolen property is used in a crime. 

“They have a section that basically says if someone broke into my home and steals a gun and kills somebody, I can be … charged a fine of $10,000, but then that person’s family could take me to court,” Sullivan said. “That’s a big, big problem.”

If they can't completely bar you from keeping or bearing arms, they can make it so legally dangerous to exercise your Second Amendment rights that some gun owners will decide it's not worth the trouble. No one's suggesting that victims of vehicle theft should be sued for the actions of the thief, but when it comes to guns it's a different story. 

No one wants to see violent criminals get their hands on a weapon. The question is how do stop them? Do you go after the lawbreaker, or do you punish the legal gun owner who's the victim of a burglary or theft? A common sense approach would focus on the gun thieves, not the lawful gun owner, but it's been years since common sense legislation stood a chance in Springfield. With Democrats in complete control of state government, Illinois has become an increasingly hostile place to exercise our fundamental right to keep and bear arms... and a much friendlier environment for prolific offenders.