Chicago, IL — A state Representative in Illisnois, Daniel Didech, has filed a bill that would give police the power to screen social media accounts of people who want to purchase a gun.
This bill, if passed, this bill would allow police to disqualify an individual from purchasing a gun and even revoke a currently valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card if any information on the social media accounts was found alarming.
Didech filed the bill in November and has since gotten two co-sponsors in Rep. Jonathan Carroll and Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia.
Of course, a bill like this is an egregious violation of a person’s First and Second Amendment rights, as the government gets to define what is “alarming” speech. Is it questioning a terrible new bill like this one? Would it be complaining about corruption or crime in our government? What about pointing out something about the local police chief? Heck, is it sharing a meme about Epstein’s suspicious death while in Federal custody?
A bill like this essentially gags the citizenry because if they happen to trip the algorithmic trigger, they could lose their gun rights!
Illinois isn’t the first state to have a legislator file such a wretched bill. In New York, during the 2018 legislative session, a similar bill was filed. But in New York, that bill would have gone even further and would have required law-abiding citizens who had done nothing wrong to—get this—turn over their social media passwords and their internet browsing history.
That’s right. If you want to exercise your Second Amendment rights, they get to completely invade your privacy and have access to everything you’ve read or said online!
If there is one God-Bless American left in the entire state of Illinois, this bill must be stopped! And for folks unfortunate to live under the boot of a tyrannical state like New York, keep a close watch because you know these bills aren’t going to die easily and they almost never stay dead. An organization with boots on the ground in New York, called the New York State Firearms Association has been fighting this and Cuomo’s other terrible gun control efforts. Now Illinois gun owners need to start working from the grassroots up stomp out bad bills like this.
It’s now or never, folks. If they can gag us now, we’ll never be able to speak out later.