East Central Reporter

State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) has come up with a solution to fix a backlog of Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card applications — getting rid of the program altogether. 

Bailey introduced Senate Bill 1948, which would overturn the FOID Act and any other FOID requirements in state law.

"FOID cards may have served a purpose in the days before comprehensive, and other instant background checks were possible or feasible, but that's not the case anymore," Bailey wrote in an April 16 post on his Facebook page. "The state has been unable or unwilling to keep up with FOID card applications, turning the program into a major roadblock for law-abiding gun owners. It's time to void the FOID and restore people's God-given constitutional rights."

The Senate Executive Committee's Firearms Subcommittee was assigned to the bill.

FOID cards are required to purchase a firearm and are distributed to people who apply for one and pass a background check. 

A release on Bailey's Senate website stated the goal of the FOID card program was to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other people who could be dangerous. Now, background checks are performed at the time of purchase, making FOID "duplicative and unnecessary."

Bailey said excessive wait times have also been a consistent issue; applicants have had to wait up to four months to receive their FOID card in recent years due to a backlog.