AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File

In Illinois, it’s illegal to obtain a firearm without first getting a Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card. To get this, you must go through a background check, then you get to do that all over again when you purchase the gun. The first check is state law, the second is federal law, and neither stopped a convicted felon of getting a gun and shooting up his former place of employment in Aurora, Illinois.

Recently, police in Marion County recovered some stolen firearms.

Do you know what wasn’t mentioned at all? A FOID.

It’s almost like criminals broke the law! Can you believe it? This is shocking. I mean, can you believe that criminals would break the law?

Did they not know they were supposed to get a FOID before stealing a gun?

Between this and the shooting in Aurora, it looks like requiring a FOID doesn’t accomplish a whole hell of a lot, now does it?

The poor schlubs whose guns were stolen? I’m sure they got FOIDs. I’m sure they went through all the appropriate paperwork and crossed every “t” while dotting every “i” to comply with the law.

If only the people who stole the guns were as conscientious of their civil responsibilities regarding firearm regulations. Tsk, tsk. So disappointing. The idea that criminals would break the law is so absolutely stunning.

I mean, yes, I know that criminals get their guns from the black market, but that’s no excuse to break the law.

To make matters worse, I suspect these black market dealers aren’t performing the required federal background checks either. How do they know they’re illegally selling firearms only to people who aren’t felons? I’m willing to bet they don’t.

I get that they’re providing firearms to criminals, but is that any excuse to break the law? I don’t think so. The least they could do is be law-abiding, responsible black market dealers and conduct the background checks after checking the criminals’ FOIDs.

What concerns me is the possibility that the signs marking some places as gun free zones are being ignored too. I bet these same inconsiderate people are carrying guns when the signs tell them not to.

Criminals are, for some reason, not following the “common sense gun laws” the people of Illinois put in place. For some reason, they feel like they should do whatever they want and not worry about what the law says. You’d think people who make their living by taking things that don’t belong to them or selling illicit substances would have more respect for the law, now wouldn’t you?

It’s enough to make me fear what’s next. They might actually use those guns to hurt someone despite those laws as well!