In an initiative to prevent future mass shootings and attacks, Gov. Rauner signed a new gun safety law (House Bill 2354) on July 16 that allows the public to identify and stop potentially dangerous individuals from endangering others or themselves with a firearm.
The Lethal Violence Order of Protection Act allows family members, acquaintances or law enforcement to petition the court to identify and issue an ex parte order for an individual who poses an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to one’s self or another with a firearm. The Act will establish a number of factors and types of evidence that the court must consider before issuing a lethal violence order of protection.
The legislation aims to help identify individuals who display signs of dangerous behavior, and remove their FOID card and any firearms in their possession prior to a possible shooting. It also outlines suspicious behavior that may not be covered under traditional protective orders.