Addison rep's bill aims to regulate homemade guns, blueprints
SPRINGFIELD - A bill introduced in the Illinois House would add several layers of state regulation to the production and distribution of 3D-printed and home-assembled guns and parts.
Democratic state Rep. Kathleen Willis's bill, filed last week, would make it a Class 2 felony to possess an un-serialized firearm that has been 3D-printed or self-assembled, distribute downloadable firearm printing instructions unless the distributor performs background checks and procedures consistent with a legal gun transaction, or unlawfully manufacture an un-serialized firearm.
Class 2 felonies are punishable by three to seven years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.
"I'm not calling for a ban on them; I'm just saying that you need to have the same background checks as you would if you were going to purchase a regular gun at a gun dealer or a gun shop, and that means you have to have a valid FOID card," said Willis, of Addison.
The bill also would require a FOID card for anyone possessing "unfinished frames or receivers," defined in the bill as "a frame or lower receiver blank, casting, or machined body that requires further machining or molding to be used as part of a functional firearm."
Federally licensed firearm dealers would be exempt if the unfinished part includes the name of the manufacturer and an individual serial number and they follow record-keeping laws.
Willis said she understands gun assembly is a hobby for some, but she said unregulated, "untraceable" guns can be dangerous.
Todd Vandermyde of the Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois, a lobbyist on behalf of gun sellers, called the bill an attempt to criminalize the distribution of information, which he said violates the U.S. Constitution.
"It makes it illegal to digitally share files and blueprints, so if you're trying to get a custom part made and you need to have a blueprint of a part made and you try to transmit that via a PDF or a drawing or with the actual code, this criminalizes the sharing of that information," he said.
He said the bill duplicates other regulations. Willis's bill requires any 3D-printed gun to contain enough metal to be caught by a metal detector, which Vandermyde said is already on federal books. He said hobbyists are already prevented from selling or trading homemade guns, the activity serial numbers are designed to track.
Willis said the bill didn't ban any weapons or go after FOID card holders. Her aim is to add a layer of regulation to otherwise untracked weapons.
"If we're trying to cut down on illegal gun trafficking and illegal guns out there, if we don't have some protections in there to prevent these from getting in the wrong hands, why bother?" she asked.
The Illinois Rifle Association lists the bill on its website as one of eight it opposes this legislative session.
A spokesman for the Illinois State Police said the agency is reviewing the bill, House Bill 2253, before taking a position.