Champaign County Board votes to support RIFL Act

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - On Feb. 19, the Champaign County Board approved a resolution to support the Responsibility in Firearm Legislation (RIFL) Act. The resolution passed with 13 board members voting yes, and five voting no. The other four board members were absent or abstained.

"This particular piece of legislation could have a big impact here in Champaign County in terms of violence prevention efforts," said Elly Hanauer-Friedman, a Christian County Board member representing District 4 and serving as the finance chairperson. "Champaign County has long been involved in a lot of work supporting local organizations who work to prevent gun violence, to prevent suicide and to promote gun safety."

Hanaeur-Friedman compares the RIFL Act to common workers' comp situations. Under the act, gun manufacturers who want to sell guns in Illinois will have to pay into a state fund. The amount due will be based on the number of weapons that they create.

"The direct and indirect costs of gun violence in the state of Illinois range from $18 to $20 million a year," Hanauer-Friedman said. "It's staggering, and taxpayers are paying a large portion of that. And so the idea with this bill is to have the gun manufacturers take some responsibility and contribute financially to the costs of their products to take a little bit of that burden, that financial burden, off of the taxpayers.

Hanauer-Friedman said initially the RIFL Act wanted manufacturers to cover 100% of the public costs of gun violence. The act is in the process of being updated to change that number to 7 to 15%.

Discussions on the RIFL Act at the Champaign County Board meeting brought up concerns on the Second Amendment. Richard Pearson, the executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), said the act is unconstitutional.

"The purpose of this is to attack the Second Amendment," Pearson said. "It does nothing to stop the shootings of street gangs, drug dealers, thugs, robbers, people who are assaulting other people. But it makes it impossible for those people who are being assaulted to defend themselves because they can't afford it."

Pearson said the organization has calculated that the RIFL Act would equate to a $1,628 cost per gun sold in Illinois. He compared this to $2 poll taxes that were ruled unconstitutional.

"The Illinois State Rifle Association will be fighting tooth and nail against this act, and if it is passed, we will undoubtedly take it to the Supreme Court of the United States," Pearson said. "The RIFL Act would make it impossible for a manufacturer, dealer, or even an individual person to buy a firearm solely because it's too financially burdensome."

The Champaign County board's vote does nothing to advance the RIFL Act's passage in the Capitol. It is simply a way to show support for the legislation.

The bill has not been assigned to a committee at this time.

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