You may remember the enormous outcry when a Springfield Armory’ and Rock River Arms-paid lobbyist brokered a big box retailer and manufacturer carve-out deal with the Illinois legislature that enabled the progress of a gun dealer licensing law. A law carefully designed to . . .
increase the cost of doing business for independent gun dealers and intrude upon Illinois residents’ gun rights — notably by requiring all gun sales to be videotaped. Thanks to grassroots opposition, led in part by a semi-penitent Springfield Armory and Rock River Arms, the law was shelved. Not killed. Shelved. Now it’s back.
Here’s the Illinois State Rifle Association’s call to arms [via ammoland.com] to defeat the resurrected legislation:
SB1657 Willis – Gun Dealer Licensing:
This is the legislation that would force your favorite gun store to close under a mountain of new regulations. This bill will affect your ability to buy firearms or ammunition in Illinois. Never mind the weight of all the federal regulations that gun dealers and gun owners must deal with, your retailer and you will have more Illinois regulations and fees now too.
The bill as amended passed out of the Senate on a 30-21 vote in the spring session, and was never called for a House vote. The push is on this week to try to pass this bill
Recent media attention, including Chicago’s report about traces of recovered firearms, falsely paint a narrative trying to drive an additional, unneeded, level of licensing for firearms dealers. In a move defying logic, the bills specifically carves out big box stores that sell firearms, giving them an unfair advantage over your smaller, local firearms retailer.
SB333 Harmon – SFA1 – Details to try to get Gun Dealer Licensing to pass
This amended shell bill would water down of a few of the details in SB1657, in order to ease opposition to Gun Dealer Licensing. In reality, it is a delaying tactic only, putting off the expensive privacy-invading video recording of all activity in the store, and starting off the cost of licensing too low to support the expensive implementation of yet another state government program. In other words, the true cost of compliance would come into play shortly after enacting dealer licensing.
All gun dealers are already federal firearms licensees, subject to extensive regulation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (and Really Big Fires). This law would add another layer of bureaucracy to the free exercise of the Second Amendment-protected right to keep and bear arms. By yet another group of bureaucrats who are sworn enemies of that right.
The fight is on. Again. Watch this space.
That reminds me. I need to go find some SA and RRA reviews to @^%# on. I don’t think I’ve trolled them this week. Thanks TTAG for the reminder!
Exactly and I’m tired of their apologists telling me that it was a rogue lobbyist.
Thanks again TTAG(and Boch /GSL)for staying on top of this abomination of a bill. This BS does nothing good…
This is why I took the money I was saving for a Springfield M1A and did something else with it. No M1A for me until I can afford one from Fulton Armory! Springfield Armory and Rock River Arms are dead to me. I will never again by anything from them, nor will I shop in any establishment that carries their products.
Buy used?
S.A. won’t get more money from a second hand sale, the current owner gets to offload a rifle some people will no longer want (thus possibly forcing him to reduce the price) and you get your dream gun… win. 🤠
Owning a Springfield is a crime against guns. It validates the brand and normalizes their transgressions. I never liked Springfield from the start but if I owned one it really would have a boating accident.
Yeah….. thanks to SA and RRA. Again.
Thanks for reminding why i will never buy a product from either of them again. Well i dont own any RRA firearms, but i have 2 SA and was gonna go for a third. Glad i didnt. Both companies can FOAD.
Also cant wait to move out of illinois.
Thanks, Springfield Armory.
Last night at the GSL meeting in Springfield, Todd Vandermyde was there. Said the NRA fired him last Friday after 25 years of his working for them in Illinois.
You could just about hear a pin drop.
I can’t help but wonder if a semi-penitent Springfield Armory was behind that.
Who is this Todd Vandermyde, and what’s his backstory ?
Please enlighten those not familiar…
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/2/nra-lobbyist-breaks-illinois-law-helps-change-it/
Todd V. was at the Sangamon County Guns Save Life meeting in Springfield, IL last night.
He did indeed say that he’s no longer working for NRA-ILA as their contract lobbyist after 25-ish years of service.
As for who is Todd V., read this.
http://www.gunssavelife.com/in-todd-we-trust-the-last-of-the-modern-renaissance-men-todd-vandermyde/
Furthermore: I do not believe Springfield Armory and/or Rock River had any hand in this.
– John
I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus for giving me opportunity in a freer state.
I hope Fulton Armory is now getting a huge boost in business since I will be going to them from now on for all my M1A’s and even my AR15’s now since they produce 20″ A2-Style Service Rifle AR’s.
Anti gun legislation is like a cockroach infestation. Usually easy to beat back to being barely noticeable but very difficult to really, truly kill. It hides and waits to reappear.
As I’ve said before Illinois doesn’t get a hell of a lot of sympathy from me. Elect anti-gun pols, get anti-gun legislation. Wanna change things? Vote differently.
You mean that if they electing democrats it means they’re still gonna get even more gun control?
I’m shocked! Dismayed!
I bet all those Illinois blue collar Union types still believe the myth of the “conservative” democrat. And they will continuously vote D because they’re completely brainwashed or because that’s how their union leg breaker “recommended” them to vote… or else…
But all kidding aside, basically you can say that if you keep voting D, you’re gonna keep getting the D.
Hell… nowadays we get the D even if we don’t, given the worthless blubbering RINO’s that infest congress at the present.
“…you can say that if you keep voting D, you’re gonna keep getting the D.”
*snicker*
“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
― H.L. Mencken
Are you there yet, Illinoisans? And if not now, then when?
If SA and RRA were completely honest, they would make their guns shoot backwards.
Though I understand being unhappy about it, does anyone really think that SA could have stopped this bill by doing something different?
Yeah. They could have kept their finger on their and RR’s hand picked lobbyist to make sure he didn’t sign off on it. Fuggem!
“In a move defying logic, the bills specifically carves out big box stores that sell firearms, giving them an unfair advantage over your smaller, local firearms retailer.”
Government: picking winners and losers in the private sector for more than a century!
Actually, the bill does not defy logic at all if you realize that the Illinois legislature is acting on behalf of the big box stores to eliminate their (big box stores’) competition.