Lilly Sponsors Measure to Protect Stalking Victims

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  – Convicted stalkers would no longer be able to possess guns under new legislation backed by state Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago.

“Stalking is a serious and often violent crime, and no stalking victim should live with the fear that their stalker can legally possess deadly firearms,” Lilly said. “This commonsense safety measure will offer police a tool to protect victims of crime and lessen some of the terror faced by stalking victims.” 

Lilly is a sponsor of House Bill 887, which would allow the State Police to deny or revoke a FOID card if an applicant or card holder has been convicted of stalking in Illinois or another state. Currently, a loophole in state law does not list stalking as a crime for which a FOID card can be revoked. The federal Stalking Resource Center reports that more than half of stalking victims reported their stalking to police before they were killed by their stalkers, and this proposal gives police another means to protect victims of stalking. This proposal is also born out of Lilly’s longtime work on domestic violence and gun reform, from co-chairing the Illinois Eradicate Domestic Violence Task Force to sponsoring the creation of the state’s Lethal Violence Order of Protection Act and the gun dealer licensing bill recently signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“Gun violence plagues too many communities in Illinois and preventing stalkers from possessing a FOID card is one more step we can take end this scourge,” said Lilly. “There is simply no reason that a stalker should be possessing a gun in Illinois.”