Judge Rules Against FOID Card Requirement for Illinois Gun Owners

On Monday, White County Resident Circuit Judge T. Scott Webb ruled against a requirement that Illinois residents must obtain a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card in order to possess a gun in the home for self-defense.

The case, State of Illinois v. Vivian Claudine Brown, which was supported by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association, centered on Brown's possession of a .22 rifle in the home for self-defense on March 18, 2017, without an accompanying (required) FOID card.

She was charged due to her lack of a FOID card, and a suit was subsequently filed. The suit challenged not only the FOID card requirement but also the fee to obtain such a card, which is $10. Brown argued that the fee "suppresses a fundamental right that is recognized to be enjoyed in the most private areas, such as the home."

Webb weighed the case in light of Heller (2008) and Bruen (2022), ultimately found that "the defendant's possession of a .22 caliber rifle within the confines of her own home, even without a valid FOID card, falls squarely within the protections afforded her by the Second Amendment."

Moreover, regarding the FOID card fee, Webb noted:

If we compare [the right to keep and bear arms in one's home] to the right to vote, requiring a voter to pay an administrative fee for absentee voting from their own home would be unthinkable. There is no question that voting from home requires more administrative work. Yet, to require the payment of additional fees would disenfranchise voters, regardless of the amount of the fee.

After analyzing all the evidence in this matter, this court finds that the defendant's activity of possessing a firearm within the confines of her home is an act protected by the Second Amendment. Additionally, there are no historical analogues to the FOID Act as required in Bruen.

Webb went on to point out that any fee associated with a FOID card, as related to possessing one for having a gun in one's home for self-defense, "violates the Second Amendment."

Second Amendment Foundation founder and senior vice president Alan Gottlieb reacted to Webb's ruling, saying, "This is an important ruling in a case that has been up and down the Illinois judicial ladder a couple of times already. We expect the state to appeal again, which could put the case right back before the Illinois Supreme Court for the third time, and we are confident we will win. It's hard to see how the Illinois Supreme Court avoids the constitutional issue, as they have done on the previous two visits."