Title
Resolution supporting Ethan’s Law and the safe storage of firearms.
Staff Summary
• Lake County’s 2023 Legislative Agenda supports legislation that mandates firearm safe storage.
• Ethan’s Law was recently discussed and presented at the March 10, 2023 Committee of the Whole meeting, and was introduced in the Illinois Senate as Senate Bill 1521. If adopted into law, gun owners would be required to secure their firearms in a “secure gun storage or safety device” or “in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure” if a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without permission, or if a resident of the dwelling cannot legally possess a firearm under existing law.
• At the April 4, 2023 Legislative Committee meeting, direction was provided to staff to draft and place a support resolution on the April 11, 2023 County Board meeting agenda to ensure sufficient time in the current Illinois Spring Legislative Session to express our support to our State Legislators, urging passage of Ethan’s Law.
Body
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, according to the 2022 Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Report, more than 1 million guns were stolen from private citizens from 2017 to 2021; and
WHEREAS, a 2015 study reported in Journal of American Medical Association estimated that roughly 4.6 million children live in a home with loaded and unlocked firearms; and
WHEREAS, according to research funded by the National Institute of Justice, over 80% of mass shooters at K-12 schools stole guns from family members; and
WHEREAS, it is a safe practice to store firearms so they are not accessible to unauthorized individuals or minors; and
WHEREAS, Lake County supports legislation that would mandate safe firearm storage through Lake County’s 2023 Legislative Agenda; and
WHEREAS, Ethan’s Law was recently proposed in the Illinois Senate as Senate Bill 1521; and
WHEREAS, under Ethan’s Law, gun owners would be required to secure their firearms in a “secure gun storage or safety device” or “in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure” if a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without permission, or if a resident of the dwelling cannot legally possess a firearm under existing law.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by this County Board of Lake County, Illinois that Lake County supports Ethan’s Law and the safe storage of firearms; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Lake County urges our state legislators to progress and support Ethan’s Law in 2023.
DATED at Waukegan, Illinois, on April 11, 2023.