From June 1st to the 17th of this year, the Illinois State Police received 42,089 new FOID card applications compared to 6, 999 last June, says State Representative Dan Swanson (R-Alpha):
“When you look at what is going on around us and we have people saying we need to defund the police, well who will be there to protect me if the police aren’t there, especially out here in the rural communities. I mean we have great sheriff departments, local police, Illinois State police, great resources, and locally here they are outstanding. Some of the thugs that are coming out and about thinking they are going to impose their will upon us, we need to have a way to defend ourselves. So people are getting their FOID card, buying a gun, and being their own self-protection,” Representative Swanson reports.