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91_HB0156eng
HB0156 Engrossed LRB9100226RCks
1 AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code of 1961 by adding
2 Sections 24-9 and 24-9.1.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
6 adding Sections 24-9 and 24-9.1 as follows:
7 (720 ILCS 5/24-9 new)
8 Sec. 24-9. Firearms; child protection.
9 (a) Definitions.
10 (1) "Child" means a person under the age of 14.
11 (2) "Loaded firearm" means a firearm in which (i)
12 there is an unexpended cartridge or shell, consisting of
13 a case that holds a charge of powder or a bullet or shot;
14 (ii) there is inserted in the cylinder or firing chamber
15 a bullet or shot; or (iii) there is inserted a magazine
16 or clip containing a bullet. A muzzle-loader firearm
17 shall be deemed loaded when it is capped or pinned and
18 has a powder charge and a ball or shot in the barrel or
19 cylinder.
20 (3) "Locked container" means a secure container
21 that is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, key lock,
22 combination lock, or similar locking device.
23 (4) "Locking device" means a device attached to a
24 firearm other than the safety that is intended to
25 substantially inhibit the discharge of a firearm.
26 (b) It is unlawful for any person to negligently keep
27 any loaded firearm within any premises or vehicle that is
28 under his or her custody or control so that a child who is
29 not supervised is likely to be able to gain access to the
30 firearm and the child gains access to the firearm and
31 possesses, uses, or exhibits the firearm either in a public
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1 place or in a negligent, suicidal, threatening, or assaultive
2 manner. For the purposes of this Section, a child shall be
3 considered to be supervised only if he or she is in the
4 custody and immediate control of his or her parent or legal
5 guardian or other person in loco parentis to the child.
6 (c) There is a rebuttable presumption that a person did
7 not act negligently as set forth in subsection (b) if:
8 (1) The child obtained the firearm as a result of
9 the illegal entry to the premises, locked container, or
10 vehicle by any person;
11 (2) The firearm was kept in a secure location or a
12 locked container;
13 (3) The firearm was carried on the person or within
14 such close proximity to the person that the person could
15 have readily retrieved and used the firearm as if it had
16 been carried on his or her person;
17 (4) The firearm was equipped with a locking device;
18 (5) The child obtained, or obtained and discharged,
19 the firearm in a lawful act of self defense or defense of
20 another person; or
21 (6) The person who kept the loaded firearm had no
22 reasonable expectation, based on objective facts and
23 circumstances, that a child would have been likely to be
24 present on the premises or in or on the vehicle.
25 (d) Unlawful storage of a firearm is a Class C
26 misdemeanor for a first violation and Class A misdemeanor for
27 a second or subsequent violation.
28 (720 ILCS 5/24-9.1 new)
29 Sec. 24-9.1. Sale of firearms and firearm ammunition;
30 required warnings; penalties.
31 (a) Upon the retail commercial sale of any firearm or
32 firearm ammunition by a person holding a license under the
33 federal "Gun Control Act of 1968", the seller shall deliver a
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1 written warning to the purchaser, which warning shall state,
2 in block letters not less than one-fourth inch in height:
3 "IT IS UNLAWFUL, AND PUNISHABLE
4 BY IMPRISONMENT AND FINE, FOR ANY
5 PERSON TO STORE OR LEAVE A FIREARM
6 IN ANY PLACE WITHIN THE REACH
7 OR EASY ACCESS OF A MINOR UNDER
8 14 YEARS OF AGE. ADDITIONALLY,
9 THE NEGLIGENT STORAGE
10 OR OPERATION OF A FIREARM MAY REQUIRE
11 THE PERSON SO NEGLIGENT TO PAY SUBSTANTIAL
12 MONETARY DAMAGES IN A CIVIL SUIT TO ANY
13 INDIVIDUAL INJURED AS THE RESULT OF
14 SUCH NEGLIGENCE."
15 (b) Any retail or wholesale seller of firearms or
16 firearm ammunition holding a license under the federal "Gun
17 Control Act of 1968" must conspicuously post at each purchase
18 counter where such firearms are sold the following warning in
19 block letters not less than one inch in height:
20 "IT IS UNLAWFUL, AND PUNISHABLE
21 BY IMPRISONMENT AND FINE, FOR
22 ANY PERSON TO STORE OR
23 LEAVE A FIREARM IN ANY PLACE
24 WITHIN THE REACH OR EASY ACCESS
25 OF A MINOR UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE.
26 ADDITIONALLY, THE NEGLIGENT
27 STORAGE OR
28 OPERATION OF A FIREARM MAY REQUIRE
29 THE PERSON SO NEGLIGENT TO PAY SUBSTANTIAL
30 MONETARY DAMAGES IN A CIVIL SUIT TO ANY
31 INDIVIDUAL INJURED AS THE RESULT OF
32 SUCH NEGLIGENCE."
33 (c) Any person or business knowingly violating a
34 requirement to provide warning under this Section commits a
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1 petty offense for which a fine not exceeding $500 shall be
2 imposed.
3 (d) The warnings required by this Section are not
4 intended to serve as the basis for civil liability. Rather,
5 they are intended only to alert purchasers of firearms of the
6 possible consequences of the negligent storage or operation
7 of a firearm that may exist under other statutes or the
8 common law.
9 (e) Retail commercial sellers of firearms required to
10 provide warnings under subsections (a) and (b) may comply
11 with the requirements by designing the form themselves or by
12 providing form warnings and posters designed and provided by
13 the Department of State Police.
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