(A) Upon conviction of an offense in which a weapon was used or possessed by the offender, any weapon seized shall be confiscated by the trial court.
(B) (1) Any stolen weapon so confiscated, when no longer needed for evidentiary purposes, shall be returned to the person entitled to possession, if known. Except as provided in divisions (D), after the disposition of a criminal case and when a confiscated weapon is no longer needed for evidentiary purposes, and when in due course no legitimate claim has been made for the weapon, the court may transfer the weapon to the sheriff of the county who may permit the trade or sale of the weapon for the weapons or other equipment used by a police agency for law enforcement purposes or may proceed to destroy it, or may in its discretion order the weapon preserved as property of the governmental body whose police agency seized the weapon, or may in its discretion order the weapon preserved as property of the governmental body whose police agency seized the weapon, or may in its discretion order the weapon preserved as property of the governmental body whose police agency seized the weapon, or may in its discretion order the weapon to be transferred to the department of State Police, for use by the crime laboratory system, for training purposes, or for any other application as deemed appropriate by the Department. If, after the disposition of a criminal case, a need still exists for the use of the confiscated weapon for evidentiary purposes, the court may transfer the weapon to the custody of the State Department of Corrections for preservation.
(2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to violations of the Fish and Aquatic Life Code or the Wildlife Code. Confiscation of weapons for Fish and Aquatic Life Code and Wildlife Code violations shall be only as provided in those Codes.
(C) (1) Any mental hospital that admits a person as an inpatient pursuant to any of the provisions of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code shall confiscate any firearms in the possession of that person at the time of admission, or at any time the firearms are discovered in the person's possession during the course of hospitalization. The hospital shall, as soon as possible following confiscation, transfer custody of the firearms to the appropriate law enforcement agency. The hospital shall give written notice to the person from whom the firearm was confiscated of the identity and address of the law enforcement agency to which it had given the firearm.
(2) The law enforcement agency shall maintain possession of any firearm if it obtains pursuant to this division (C) for a minimum of 90 days. Thereafter, the firearm may be disposed of pursuant to the provisions of division (B).
(D) After the disposition of a criminal case involving a weapon used in a homicide, or upon petition to the circuit court if no criminal case is brought due to the death or incapacity of the person who committed the homicide, the court may order the confiscation of the weapon and, when the weapon is no longer needed for evidentiary purposes, the court may, in its discretion:
(1) If the weapon was stolen, order the return of the weapon to the lawful owner;
(2) Order the weapon to be transferred to the sheriff of the county for destruction;
(3) Order the weapon preserved as property of the governmental body whose police agency seized the weapon; or
(4) Order the weapon to be transferred to the Department of State Police for use by the crime laboratory system, for training purposes, or for any other application deemed appropriate by the Department. The court may not order the transfer of the weapon to any private individual or private organization except as provided in division (D)(1).
(ILCS 720, Ch. 5, §§ 24-6)