By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a Virginia-based group, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Illinois Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card on behalf of three Prairie State residents, Christopher Laurent, Kim Dalton and Justin Tucker.
The 16-page lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. Named as defendants, in their official capacities, are Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke.
Plaintiffs are represented by NCLA attorneys Jacob Huebert and John J. Vecchione. The case is known as Laurent, et al. v. Kelly.
In announcing the lawsuit, NCLA explained, “Illinois and Massachusetts are the only two states that require their residents to obtain a government license before possessing any type of firearm for any reason. But the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right enshrined in the Second Amendment, which means people do not have to seek permission from police or any other state administrative body before exercising it. The Fourteenth Amendment forbids states from depriving anyone of their liberty without due process of law. The FOID Act restricts this core liberty with no due process of law, and it flips the presumption of liberty, placing the burden of proof on citizens to get government permission to exercise their freedom. NCLA is determined to end this injustice and prevent similar licensing restrictions on other constitutional rights.”
Fox News is reporting that two of the plaintiffs—Laurent and Dalton—”would like to obtain firearms for self-defense but haven’t done so because they ‘refuse to submit to the state’s unconstitutional procedure, and are unwilling to subject themselves to criminal prosecution by violating the law.’”
According to the complaint, the other plaintiff—Tucker—has an FOID card, “but he does not wish keep it in his possession whenever he possesses a firearm or ammunition as the law requires, nor does he wish to renew it upon its expiration—though he does wish to retain his Second Amendment rights.”
Other states have passed laws requiring so-called “permits-to-purchase” which must be obtained from a law enforcement agency before a would-be gun buyer can exercise his or her constitutional right to own a firearm. Critics of such laws say the requirement clearly qualifies as an “infringement” on the right to keep and bear arms.
