Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined 22 attorneys general in support of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) rule that helps prevent illegal gun trafficking by expanding the category of firearm dealers who are required to obtain a license and perform background checks on potential buyers. Raoul and the coalition filed an amicus brief in Texas v. ATF arguing the ATF rule is necessary to protect public safety and prevent domestic abusers and other dangerous individuals from illegally obtaining guns.
“The federal government should be able to protect residents and communities by requiring firearm dealers to comply with commonsense regulations like performing background checks on potential buyers,” Raoul said. “I will continue to advocate to protect Illinois communities from the scourge of gun violence that has become all too common in our state.”
In 2022, Congress enacted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which closed certain loopholes that allowed gun traffickers and criminals to obtain guns without undergoing background checks. In particular, the law expanded the definition of gun sellers to include additional private sellers, making them subject to federal licensing and background check requirements. The ATF rule implements these statutory changes and provides clarifying instructions about what conduct falls within the expanded definition under the law.
Raoul and the attorneys general argue that unlicensed gun sales make it easier for people who cannot legally purchase firearms to obtain them, which endangers communities and fuels gun violence. Because the ATF rule is intended to make it more difficult for dangerous individuals to illegally obtain guns, it will curb gun trafficking and protect public safety.
The brief is the most recent step in Attorney General Raoul’s work to address gun violence. The Attorney General’s office created a state-of-the-art crime-gun tracing database for Illinois law enforcement called Crime Gun Connect. Raoul’s office also collaborates with local law enforcement to combat gun trafficking and has used the office’s jurisdiction to prosecute multi-county gun trafficking offenses. Additionally, the Attorney General’s office works with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors around the state to increase awareness of Illinois’ red flag law and to address gaps in Illinois’ firearms licensing system. The office also prosecutes individuals who lie on FOID card applications.
The Attorney General’s office partners with the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) to try to avert violence by hosting trainings for law enforcement officers, educators, religious leaders and other community members that are designed to prevent targeted acts of violence.
Attorney General Raoul has persistently advocated at the federal and state levels to strengthen regulation of 3D-printed guns and ghost guns. Illinois law now prohibits ghost guns, but the office continues to fight in federal court to help defend a recent rule closing the federal loophole. Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s office also defends cases pending in courts across the state challenging Illinois’ regulations of firearms. Nationally, Attorney General Raoul successfully filed and resolved a lawsuit to get the federal firearm license of an unscrupulous arms manufacturer revoked.
In addition to supporting law enforcement efforts to keep communities safe from gun violence, the Attorney General’s office supports victims’ service providers around Illinois that offer trauma-informed services for crime victims and their families. Raoul’s Violence Prevention and Crime Victim Services Division administers a host of programs and services to assist survivors of violent crime. More information is available on the Attorney General’s website.
Joining Raoul in filing the amicus brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
