Bill shielding identities of gun owners heads to Gov Quinn’s desk(IL)

[RamboLiberal]

SPRINGFIELD — Gun owners’ identities would remain shielded from public disclosure under legislation the Senate overwhelmingly approved Friday and that Gov. Quinn signaled he would support.

The 42-1 vote for a bill now headed to the governor’s desk represents a victory for gun-rights lobbyists who sought to keep the owners’ names private after Attorney General Lisa Madigan contended that lists of those with Firearm Owner Identification cards should be made public under the state’s open-records law.

Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), the bill’s chief Senate sponsor, argued the U.S. Constitution clearly supports gun owners’ rights to keep their names protected from public inspection and said that the public’s safety is at stake with the legislation.

“These names clearly have a constitutional right to be made private or kept private,” Dillard said. “From a law-enforcement standpoint, I don’t believe we should give burglars a map to systematically burglarize our neighborhoods and our farms.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/5493362-418/bill-shielding-identities-of-gun-owners-heads-to-quinns-desk.html