Proposed Illinois gun plan receives bipartisan support

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A measure has been introduced in the Illinois Legislature that would allow Illinois State Police to notify the FBI if someone on a terrorist watch list applies for a firearm ownership card.

The Daily Herald (http://bit.ly/28RbXmq ) reports that the same measure would also add people involved in terrorist threats to the list of those who can have their ownership cards denied, or revoked.

Democratic state Rep. Greg Harris said he had been working on the measure since before the Orlando shooting this month that killed 49 in a gay nightclub.

"There were not good mechanisms in place to become alert to those warning signs," Harris said.

State Rep. Ed Sullivan, a Mundelein Republican and key negotiator of the Illinois law that allows people to carry concealed weapons in public, is working with Harris and is the lead Republican on the plan.

Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson says he's OK with the plan if it doesn't change.

"It helps, but it's not overly intrusive into gun owners' rights," Pearson said.

The proposal faces some procedural hurdles if lawmakers want to act quickly. The plan would take several days to approve, but state lawmakers haven't met in Springfield since May 31.

Still, state Rep. Ron Sandack, a Downers Grove Republican, said Harris has negotiated with Second Amendment supporters like Sullivan and him in order to find a plan that can win approval in the otherwise divided Capitol.

"I don't think this pinches any constituency in any way," Sandack said.

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Information from: Daily Herald, http://www.dailyherald.com