SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — An Illinois judge has ruled that Illinois’ Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card law is unconstitutional.
The 2017 case, The People of Illinois vs. Vivian Claudine Brown, comes after Vivian Brown was accused of possessing a firearm without a FOID card.
Brown argued that she “was a law-abiding person charged with possessing an otherwise lawful firearm without a FOID card solely within the confines of her home and that requiring her to go through the FOID card process unconstitutionally infringed upon her fundamental right of self-defense in this ‘most private of areas.'”
White County Judge T. Scott Webb agreed.
The circuit court of White County dismissed the charge, finding that, as applied to the facts of the case, requiring a FOID card was unconstitutional under the second amendment to the United States Constitution (U.S. Const., amend. II) and article I, section 22, of the Illinois Constitution of 1970
In his ruling, Judge Webb stated, “A citizen in the State of Illinois is not born with a Second Amendment right. Nor does that right insure when a citizen turns 18 or 21 years of age. It is a façade. They only gain that right if they pay a $10 fee, complete the proper application, and submit a photograph. If the right to bear arms and self-defense are truly core rights, there should be no burden on the citizenry to enjoy those rights, especially within the confines and privacy of their own homes. Accordingly, if a person does something themselves from being able to exercise being able to exercise that right, like being convicted of a felony or demonstrating mental illness, then and only then may the right be stripped from them.”
The Illinois State Rifle Association is applauding the ruling saying it paves the way for the Illinois Supreme Court to take up the issue.
https://newschannel20.com/news/local/illinois-judge-rules-foid-card-unconstitutional