(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A state lawmaker wants parents to face the same criminal charges as their children if they allow the minors to buy guns and the weapons are used in crimes.
The father of the man charged by prosecutors in the Highland Park parade shooting gave written consent for his son to obtain a state firearms owner identification (FOID) card before his son turned 21.
State Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, said there were clear signs the son was a threat at the time the father gave that permission. Police say this helped his son get a semi-automatic rifle used in the Highland Park attack.
Batinick has proposed a state law that would allow parents to face the same criminal charges as their children, if the parents helped their children get guns used in crimes.
“If the parents are going to enable a young individual to have firearms, then they should be criminally liable for that. It’s common sense. They know their kids the best, and if they don’t know their kids well enough, they shouldn’t be signing off in the first place,” the legislator told WBBM Newsradio on Tuesday.
He said Illinois law currently allows for civil liability but not criminal liability.
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