NCLA Sues Illinois Over 1967 FOID Gun-ID Law, Seeking to Void Permit Requirement

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 19

Three plaintiffs anchor the federal suit filed in Chicago on Tuesday, with the New Civil Liberties Alliance asking a court to block Illinois from enforcing its FOID card requirement for gun and ammunition possession.
The complaint says the law violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments by forcing residents to get state permission before possessing firearms, including for self-defense at home, and by placing the burden on citizens to prove eligibility.
Two plaintiffs say they have not obtained guns because they refuse to enter what the suit calls an unconstitutional process; a third has a FOID card but challenges the renewal and carry-at-all-times requirements.
NCLA says a federal ruling could set broader precedent than past state-court challenges, including a 2020 Illinois trial-court decision that found the law unconstitutional only as applied to individual plaintiffs.
Illinois enacted the FOID law in 1967 and ranks second nationally for gun-law strength, yet CDC data cited in the report puts the state 13th in gun homicides at 8.2 deaths per 100,000 residents.

Could the legal battle over Illinois's gun permit law ultimately dismantle state ID requirements for exercising other constitutional rights?

As courts weigh historical tradition against modern dangers, are decades-old public safety laws like the FOID card facing extinction?