The Illinois House has adjourned without a vote on the two swords hanging over the heads of gun dealers in the Land o’ Lincoln. SB1657 would have required state-level licensing of gun dealers, adding bureaucracy and, of course, cost to the lawful business of selling firearms.
If SB1657 had passed, SB333 would have a requirement for video cameras throughout the stores. Up to and including bathrooms (all places where firearms are stored, handled, sold, transferred, or carried).
One of the bills’ biggest proponents, State Rep. Kathleen Willis (above), portrayed the bill as benign and pro-business. The legislation, she said, “simply required better business practices. … Gun dealers who are on the straight and narrow have nothing to worry about,” she whined with a straight face on Facebook Live shortly after the legislature shut down. You can hear her sad lament here.
We feel her pain. And we sure you do, too.