February 10, 2025
Today the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court has, for the third time, struck down the requirement of having a FOID Card in the home as unconstitutional in the case of People of the State of Illinois vs. Vivian Claudine Brown. The ISRA legal team is representing Ms. Brown in this nearly eight-year-long battle to recognize her rights.
In 2017, Vivian Brown became fearful of her husband and separated from him. During that time, she was in possession of a single shot .22 rifle for her protection. The estranged husband filed a complaint against Ms. Brown alleging she fired the rifle in the home. Police responded and found the rifle had not been fired, but the State’s Attorney charged Vivian with possessing a firearm without a FOID card.
“It is the height of hypocrisy for Governor Pritzker to sign legislation today claiming to protect potential domestic violence victims, while at the same time the FOID card act is being used to disarm those same potential victims.” – Richard Pearson, ISRA Executive Director said today in response to this ruling and other legislation being acted on in Illinois.
The FOID card is a requirement to obtain a permit to exercise 2nd Amendment rights in the home, and today Judge Webb found that to be unconstitutional again. Additionally, the requirement to pay a fee to utilize that same right was also found unconstitutional as part of this ruling.
“The State claims they need to charge $10 as an administrative fee. The ISRA agrees with Judge Webb that the right to self defense is just as important as the right to vote. Could you imagine if voters had to pay a $10 fee in order to vote by mail? Illinois Democrats would be up in arms about disenfranchising voters but have no problem doing the same thing to firearms owners.” – Continued Mr. Pearson.
The Illinois State Rifle Association is proud to continue supporting Ms. Brown in this case and once again, ISRA attorneys have won this case. This case will be heard by the Illinois Supreme Court for the third time in 8 years and the Illinois State Rifle Association will continue to be by Vivian’s side as we continue to fight for Second Amendment Rights in Illinois. To learn more about the ISRA, including information on membership and donating to the legal assistance committee which funds cases like this, please visit www.isra.org.
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