Carbondale Reporter

Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) was vocal about her opposition to the Illinois State Senate's version of a bill aimed at fixing a state police backlog for Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards on May 31.

"'Fix the FOID.' Vote in the Illinois Senate — Passed. I VOTED NO!!" Bryant wrote in a post on her Facebook page. 

The Senate passed the bill with a 40-17 vote, but the bill then returned to the House, where it did not pass during this legislative session.

Senate Republicans voted against the bill, saying the changes would hurt law abiding gun owners, instead of zeroing in on criminals who are barred from owning firearms. Bryant even commented on a House-proposed fingerprint requirement for FOID renewals, asking "what the media would say about having to give fingerprints to exercise their 1st Amendment Rights." 

Under the legislation as passed in the Senate, FOID card holders could opt to submit their fingerprints voluntarily, which would allow them to automatically renew their cards when expired and avoid the current renewal process, which due to a growing backlog, takes months to complete, WQRF reported.

Electronic FOID cards would also be created as part of the bill. 

Illinois State Police supported the proposal introduced in the Senate making fingerprinting optional. Mandatory fingerprinting passed the House, but never made it to a vote in the Senate.