Daily Herald opinion: Small steps, big statement: Modifications to state’s gun-control policies demonstrate commitment to safety

Despite abundant evidence of the need for better policies on gun safety in our country and our state, achieving them in the face of opposition from the powerful, regulation-averse gun lobby requires determination, political will and, sometimes, a willingness to take small victories where you can.

In that spirit, Senate Bill 8, the Safe Gun Storage Act, approved by the Illinois House and Senate makes an important statement, while offering some practical, if not exactly groundbreaking, steps forward.

The centerpiece of the legislation sponsored in the House by Batavia Democratic Rep. Maura Hirschauer and in the Senate by Naperville Democratic Sen. Laura Ellman is a provision requiring gun owners to keep weapons locked away in any place where they could be accessible by a person under 18 years old or by someone who could reasonably be considered a potential threat to themselves or others.

That requirement is only a slight adjustment to the state’s present gun-storage requirement, which sets the age limit at just 14 years old, but it is not an insignificant step. As Hirschauer noted during floor debate on the bill, guns are the No. 1 cause of death for children in the United States and “an estimated 30 million children in our country live in a home with at least one firearm, with 4.6 million children living in homes with unlocked and loaded guns.”

But other features of the legislation also deserve attention. It reduces from 72 hours to 48 hours the window of time gun owners have in which to report a firearm lost or stolen. It gives the Illinois State Police authority to revoke the FOID card of an owner who fails to report a lost or stolen gun twice or more. It provides substantial fines and criminal penalties for an owner if a minor or prohibited person gains access to an unlocked weapon and uses it to harm or kill someone. It modifies policies related to a state database of lost or stolen weapons and requires dealers to cross reference the database when selling firearms.

Importantly, it also requires gun owners traveling to Illinois from outside the state to abide by our laws regarding prohibited weapons — under penalty of up to 15 years in prison for gun trafficking.

The legislation passed the House 69-40 and the Senate 33-19 and now goes to the governor’s office for the signature of Gov. JB Pritzker.

Some opponents protested that certain provisions of the law may not pass muster with the U.S. Supreme Court, and no doubt the gun lobby will put these to the test. So be it. The protections are worth the risk, and even if certain portions of the law don't survive, certain others surely will, and the state's small step toward a practical gun-safety policy will make a big statement about our commitment to policies that offer more security from gun violence on our streets and in our homes.