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Firearm Restraining Orders
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What is a Firearm Restraining Order (FRO)?
A firearm restraining order (FRO) is a way for family, household members, or law enforcement to ask a court to restrict a person’s access to guns, to ammunition, and to firearm parts when that person poses a significant danger to themselves or others. A FRO is a tool to buy time when it matters most and empowers law enforcement and families to prevent gun violence and firearm-related suicide.
When did the Illinois Firearms Restraining Order Act become effective?
On January 1, 2019, the Firearms Restraining Order Act (430 ILCS 67/1) went into effect in Illinois. The Firearms Restraining Order Act provides a formal legal process to ask a court to issue a FRO.
Why was the Firearms Restraining Order Act created?
The Firearms Restraining Order Act was established in response to a series of deadly mass shootings and increased rates of suicide across the country. It allows family/household members and law enforcement to work with courts to temporarily remove guns, ammunition, and firearm parts, and prevents the purchase of new guns for the duration of the order by individuals who pose a significant risk of harm to themselves or others.
The goal is to ensure the safety of the individual and those around them. This creates safer circumstances for the individual to seek treatment, to stabilize their behavior, or to access resources to address the underlying causes of their dangerous behavior.
How to connect with a circuit court to obtain a Firearm Restraining Order?
A family or household member or law enforcement can ask, or “petition,” an Illinois circuit court for an order to temporarily limit firearm access for a “respondent,” the individual who poses a danger of injury.
Family Member or Household members
"Family member of the respondent" means a spouse, former spouse, person with whom the respondent has a minor child in common, parent, child, or stepchild of the respondent, any other person related by blood or present marriage to the respondent, or a person who shares a common dwelling with the respondent.”
A petition for a FRO may be filed in any county where the respondent resides or any county where an incident occurred that involved the respondent posing an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to the respondent or another by having in his or her custody or control a firearm, ammunition, or firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm; or having purchased, possessed, or received a firearm, ammunition, or firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm threat.
There are two completely equal ways a family member or household member to request a (petition) for a firearm restraining order:
- Contact the county clerk’s office in the county the respondent lives or any county where an incident occurred.
- When contacting the courthouse, ask for the clerk’s office.
- The clerk’s office will provide forms and know the appropriate person to assist you with completing a FRO petition. Clerks are unable to help write the petition; however, they can direct you to the organizations (such as Illinois Legal Aid Online, Legal Assistance Referrals (Office of the Illinois Attorney General), local family services) in your community who can assist you.
- Contact your local law enforcement agency.
- Make sure also to report immediate safety threats to local law enforcement.
- If the law enforcement agency chooses not to petition for a FRO, or if you prefer not to approach law enforcement, you can contact your county clerk’s office.
Law Enforcement
Obtaining a FRO can be a proactive way to prevent violence and suicide if law enforcement officers encounter someone demonstrating that they pose a risk to themselves or others. Law enforcement officers can identify individuals who pose a danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or another by having in his or her custody or control a firearm, ammunition, or firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm or removing firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm, or has purchased, possessed, or received a firearm, ammunition, or firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm.
Per Public Act 102-0345, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board shall develop and approve a standard curriculum for a training program regarding the Firearms Restraining Order Act. The board shall conduct a training program that instructs officers on the use of firearm restraining orders, how to identify situations in which a firearm restraining order is appropriate, and how to safely promote the usage of firearm restraining orders in different situations.
The Illinois Office of the Attorney General provides training for law enforcement to explain the law concerning firearms when a person poses a significant danger to themselves or others. These events are scheduled on a rolling basis. Send an email to Special Events for more information.
Role of the Health Care Providers in Increasing Awareness of the FRO with families.
As a health care provider, you cannot petition for a FRO, but you can advise patients and their family members about FRO and its protections. FRO is a civil procedure. It creates a temporary restriction on firearm access to provide some breathing room for those in distress who may be in danger of harming themselves or others.
You can work with the petitioner to support them through the process, including helping to complete the necessary form. If the petitioner is using a lawyer, you can volunteer to speak with the lawyer to support the case. If you do not have the capacity to assist with the process of petitioning, refer them to a social worker or case manager that can provide ongoing support as they go through the steps of requesting the FRO.
In all cases when a firearm is present in the home, even when there is not imminent risk, educating patients and families about safe storage is critical. Have literature about safe storage, as well as gun locks, available to your patients and their families.
Download Illinois Resources
STATE RESOURCES
Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts
The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) assists the Illinois Supreme Court with its general administrative and supervisory authority over all Illinois courts. AOIC provides forms for the Firearm Restraining Order process.
Office of the Illinois Attorney General
The Office of the Illinois Attorney General works to ensure that Illinois' laws and policies are effective and are upheld so that communities can be safe places to live, to work, and to nurture children. Attorneys, investigators, and staff across several functional areas are committed to violence prevention and to serving those who may become victims of violent crime. It provides resources to promote safer communities, including a brochure for communities and families to understand the firearm restraining order (FRO). Additional resources that are provided to law enforcement agencies include a fact sheet and trainings.
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) is a state agency dedicated to improving the administration of criminal justice. Researchers at ICJIA released a publication explaining firearm restraining orders in Illinois.
Illinois Department of Public Health
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is an advocate for and partner with the people of Illinois to re-envision health policy and promote health equity, prevent and protect against disease and injury, and prepare for health emergencies. Under Public Act 102-0345, IDPH was tasked, subject to appropriation or other available funding, to conduct a program to promote awareness of firearm restraining orders to the general public.
Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) is the state agency mandated to promote and to maintain a high level of professional standards for law enforcement and correctional officers. Under Public Act 102-0345, ILETSB was tasked to develop and to approve a standard curriculum for a training program on the Firearms Restraining Order Act.
Illinois Legal Aid Online
The Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to open opportunities for justice by educating Illinoisans about their rights and connecting them to lawyers, solutions, and each other. ILAO shares an overview of FROs and who can be contacted to assist with filing a petition for a FRO.
Illinois State Police
The Illinois State Police (ISP) protects public safety and pursues justice for the people of Illinois. The ISP director chairs the Commission on Implementing the Firearm Restraining Order, which created a model policy to provide an overall framework law enforcement can follow to secure and execute a FRO.
NATIONAL/REGIONAL RESOURCES
The Ad Council Research Institute
The Ad Council Research Institute (ACRI) leverages the Ad Council’s insight-driven approach to examine some of the most important social issues. ACRI and the Joyce Foundation released an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Study that provides a deeper look into ERPOs, how to effectively speak about these laws with the public, and how to drive more awareness and understanding of them.
The Joyce Foundation
The Joyce Foundation is a private, nonpartisan philanthropy that invests in public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region. The Joyce Foundation has hosted several webinars to increase awareness of extreme risk protection orders.
Brady: United Against Gun Violence
Brady – the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention organization – works to enact reasonable solutions to free America from gun violence. They tackle three critical areas: change the laws, change the industry, and change the culture. By changing hearts and minds and fostering a culture of responsible gun use and ownership, America can be free from gun violence.
End Family Fire
A joint effort by Brady and the Ad Council, End Family Fire is a movement to promote responsible gun ownership through the practice of safe gun storage. The campaign gives gun owners a role in gun violence prevention and encourages a national dialogue around safe storage practices—all of which can help prevent tragedies of family fire, or a preventable tragedy that occurs when someone has access to an unsecured gun from the home when they shouldn't have it.
National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center - Johns Hopkins
The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, established the National ERPO Resource Center (ERC). The ERC is a training and technical assistance hub designed to support states and localities with the implementation of their ERPO programs to reduce gun violence and save lives. It created a website as a resource for state-specific information, technical assistance, research, and other educational materials for anyone interested in implementing ERPO laws.
See Laws and Rules
Illinois General Assembly - Firearms Restraining Order Act
The Firearms Restraining Order Act provides a formal legal process to ask a court to issue a firearm restraining order (FRO) to temporarily limit an individual’s access to firearms, ammunition, and firearm parts when that person poses a significant danger to themselves or others. A FRO is a civil court order that temporarily prohibits a person from possessing or buying firearms, ammunition, and firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm.
Illinois General Assembly - Firearms Restraining Order Awareness Public Act
The Firearms Restraining Order Awareness Public Act tasked IDPH, subject to appropriations or other available funds, to conduct a program to promote awareness of firearm restraining orders to the general public.
Illinois General Assembly - Protect Illinois Communities Act
This act included an amendment that allows a petitioner to request a firearm restraining order for up to one year (previously was up to six months).
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