By NRA-ILA
[ED: For background on this, read John Boch’s post on an earlier ruling that Illinois’ FOID card requirement is unconstitutional.]
Fairfax, Va. – The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) today announced its support for a lawsuit challenging Illinois’s Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID) Act. The lawsuit was brought by Guns Save Life and a 84-year old Marine Corps veteran who is currently a member of Guns Save Life.
“The Illinois FOID Act infringes on law-abiding citizens’ fundamental right to self-protection,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA-ILA.
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 cards every 10 years. If the cards are stolen, the gun owner is forced to jump through additional hoops and burdened with more fees to exercise their constitutional right to self-protection.
Party to the suit is an 84-year-old Marine veteran and Guns Save Life member who lives alone and relies on his firearms for self-protection. After he forgot to renew his FOID card, the police came to his home and confiscated his guns thus leaving him defenseless.
“You shouldn’t need government permission to exercise a constitutional right, “ continued Cox. “The men and women of the National Rifle Association are pleased to join Guns Save Life in this fight to protect the rights of a distinguished combat veteran and all of the law-abiding gun owners in the great state of Illinois.”