The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) has sued Illinois over the Firearm Owner’s Identification Card (FOID) Act, which requires gun owners to obtain a card to purchase a gun or ammunition.
Fox News was the first to report the lawsuit.
The NCLA argues that the law violates the Second Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
“The FOID Card Act’s absolute prohibition on an individual’s possession of a firearm before obtaining a FOID card—that is, before submitting to a state administrative process under which state officials decide whether an individual is eligible and will be permitted to exercise that right—deprives individuals of that liberty interest without due process of law,” the NCLA writes in its lawsuit.
The FOID Act requires Illinois residents to obtain this card from the Illinois State Police before purchasing any gun or ammunition.
The state also requires gun owners to carry the card with them at all times.
Yes, you actually have to go through the government before even exercising your natural right to bear arms.
“This requires one to initiate and prevail in an administrative proceeding—in which the burden of proof is on the individual at every step, and which may take 30 days, 90 days, or even longer,” according to the lawsuit. “Any violation of this requirement is a crime.”
Imagine having to wait to purchase a gun or ammunition. Ridiculous.
Plaintiffs Christopher Laurent and Kim Dalton want to buy a gun for self-defense in their homes.
Neither one has done so because they do not have FOID cards. Laurent and Dalton “refuse to submit to the state’s unconstitutional procedure, and are unwilling to subject themselves to criminal prosecution by violating the law.”
Plaintiff Justin Tucker has a FOID card but has chosen to challenge the requirement to carry it at all times when he has his gun or when he wants to purchase ammunition.
“This case is not about invalidating all licensing related to guns,” said Mark Chenoweth, President and Chief Legal Officer, NCLA. “But requiring people to get permission from the government in advance even to obtain a gun for hunting or for self-defense in the home is outrageous. The point of having Constitutional rights is that we do not have to get the government’s permission to exercise them.”
I thought it was ridiculous having to get any kind of carry license, but this takes the cake.
In 2025, an Illinois state trial court ruled parts of the law unconstitutional, but only applied it to the plaintiffs.
However, in May 2025, the Appellate Court of Illinois upheld the FOID Act.
The NCLA chose to file the lawsuit in a federal court located in Chicago to set a precedent.
“Once the federal courts weigh in, that will be the definitive law,” NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Jacob Huebert told Fox News. “If a federal court orders the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Attorney General, and the Cook County State’s Attorney not to enforce this law anymore, then they can no longer enforce it.”
Yet another reason why I’m glad I chose Oklahoma over Illinois. We have constitutional carry here, baby!
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