With the support of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Guns Save Life filed a lawsuit today in Illinois state court challenging the state’s Firearm Owner’s Identification Card (FOID) Act.
The FOID Act requires individuals to pass an extended background check, provide a photo, and pay a fee before being granted government permission to possess a firearm in their own home. Illinois gun owners must pay a fee and renew their FOID card every 10 years. If the card is stolen, gun owners are forced to jump through additional hoops and are burdened with more fees to exercise their constitutional right to self-protection.
The case of one Guns Save Life member shows how drastically the FOID Act infringes on that right. In compliance with the Act, the member recently sought to renew his FOID card. But the police denied his application and revoked his card, claiming to have suddenly found a battery conviction in his record. He has no such conviction, and the courts have no record of one. Nevertheless, because he no longer had a FOID card, he was forced to disarm.
“Something is very wrong with a law that causes a law-abiding Illinois resident to dispossess himself of his firearms because of a government recordkeeping error,” said John Boch, executive director of Guns Save Life. “This episode should reveal to everyone the FOID Act’s basic unconstitutionality.”
But efforts are underway in the Illinois legislature to raise the costs of FOID cards. With the help of the NRA, Guns Save Life seeks to end once and for all this infringement on the constitutional rights of the law-abiding gun owners of Illinois.
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Message from John Boch: I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the role of the former NRA-ILA contract lobbyist for Illinois Todd Vandermyde for his invaluable help. Without his hard work and selfless dedication to our cause, this suit might not have been possible.
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