Kendall County Times

Representative Mark Batinick made legislation that’ll hold parents responsible for helping their children under 21 years old to obtain a Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID).

“The mass shootings that plague our nation and state regularly are stealing the lives of our loved ones, neighbors, and children,” Batinick said. “House Bill 5769 will help us hold parents criminally liable in Illinois for any damages resulting from the firearm, firearms, or ammunition in which they consented for their child under the age of 21 to have the FOID card to purchase. We need to take gun safety seriously and ensure that our younger adults are prepared, trained, and fit to own a firearm by adding this layer of accountability for parents consenting.

The Illinois Times reported there is a $10 application fee and the license lasts for 10 years.

Illinoisans under the age of 21 who want to obtain a FOID can only do so with the written consent of a parent, according to a release. Batinick has filed HB5769, legislation that would hold parents criminally liable for damages that result from their child's firearm if the child is under the age of 21. Parents are currently only civilly liable. Batinick was motivated to file the legislation by the recent mass shooting in Highland Park, as well as the shootings in Texas and New York.

“Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are the weapons of choice among mass shooters because they are designed to allow human beings to hunt and kill other human beings,” Ari Freilich, state policy director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said to Shaw Local. “Unfortunately, a statewide ban, while still helpful, may not have as much impact on the state’s overall gun violence problem.”

On July 4, Highland Park residents were gathered for a parade when a man began firing into the crowd from a rooftop, ABC News reported. His attack left 7 people dead and dozens more injured. Person of interest Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III, age 22, evaded capture for approximately 8 hours until law enforcement took him into custody in Lake Forest.

KSDK reported state police issued a FOID to Crimo in 2019.

On May 24, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos shot and killed 19 fourth-grade students and 2 teachers and wounded 17 other people at Robb Elementary School, AP News reported. The school is in Uvalde, Texas, a majority-Hispanic town with a population of 16,000. Ramos barricaded himself inside a fourth-grade classroom and opened fire on the people inside until law enforcement officers were able to break into the classroom and kill him.

The Illinois Times wrote FOID became controversial as the state’s Supreme Court tackled its case of the People v Vivian Brown which raised if the identification card was “constitutional.”

Batinick's release cites a report from the National Institute of Justice issued earlier this year which found that between 2010 and 2019, 77% of people who committed mass shootings had purchased at least one of their firearms legally.