In a much-needed slap to Illinois’ draconian gun laws, a judge has finally ruled that requiring law-abiding citizens to have a Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card just to possess a firearm in their own home is unconstitutional. Yes, you read that right—the state of Illinois actually tried to make people pay for permission to exercise a constitutional right. But White County Resident Circuit Judge T. Scott Webb wasn’t having any of it.
The case, State of Illinois v. Vivian Claudine Brown, was backed by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA). In his ruling, Judge Webb laid it out in no uncertain terms: “The Defendant’s possession of a .22 caliber rifle within the confines of her home, even without a valid FOID card, falls squarely within the protections afforded her by the Second Amendment.” Translation? The government doesn’t get to slap a fee on your right to defend yourself.
So how did we get here? Back in March 2017, Vivian Claudine Brown’s husband called the police and claimed she was firing a gun inside their home. Cops showed up, found a rifle next to the bed, but—here’s the kicker—there was zero evidence it had been fired. Brown denied shooting it, and other people in the house said they didn’t hear a thing. That should have been the end of it. But this is Illinois, where gun laws make about as much sense as a screen door on a submarine.
Instead of moving on, the state decided to charge Brown with—brace yourself—possessing a firearm without a FOID card. That’s a Class A misdemeanor, carrying a potential penalty of up to 364 days in jail. Yes, in Illinois, you can get locked up for simply owning a firearm in your own home without a government permission slip.
Judge Webb, however, saw the absurdity in this immediately. He pointed out how ridiculous it would be if Brown had actually needed to use the rifle for self-defense, only to end up being the one in trouble with the law. “If an intruder had entered Ms. Brown’s home and threatened violence towards her and, God forbid, she was forced to use that .22 rifle to defend herself, she would have committed a class A misdemeanor carrying with it a possible penalty of up to 364 days in the county jail,” he wrote. “She could claim self-defense, but that does not change the fact that she possessed a firearm without a valid FOID Card. Such an outcome is asinine, especially in this great nation that so cherishes the right to be secure and defend oneself within the home.”
Asinine is putting it lightly. What kind of backwards logic makes a victim a criminal for daring to defend themselves? This is exactly the kind of lunacy that happens when politicians who have armed security details for themselves decide that regular citizens don’t deserve the same right to protection.
Judge Webb didn’t stop there. He went on to declare that not only is gun ownership within the home clearly protected under the Second Amendment, but that Illinois’ FOID Act has no historical precedent. In other words, it’s completely unconstitutional, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s recent Bruen decision, which reaffirmed that gun laws must align with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Oh, and let’s not forget the obvious: charging a fee to exercise a constitutional right is a direct violation of the Second Amendment.
Naturally, the folks who love trampling on gun rights aren’t taking this well. Alan Gottlieb, the founder and executive vice president of SAF, noted that this ruling is going to cause some serious headaches for the gun-grabbers in Springfield. “This is an important ruling in a case that has been up and down the Illinois judicial ladder a couple of times already,” Gottlieb said in a press release. “We expect the state to appeal again, which could put the case right back before the Illinois Supreme Court for the third time, and we are confident we will win.”
And he’s right. The Illinois Supreme Court has tried to dodge this issue before, but they’re running out of ways to sidestep the Constitution. This ruling makes it crystal clear: the FOID card requirement for merely owning a firearm at home is unconstitutional, and no amount of legal gymnastics can change that.
What happens next? The state will almost certainly appeal because admitting defeat isn’t in their nature. But this ruling is a massive win for gun owners and common sense. It proves yet again that the Second Amendment isn’t some government-granted privilege—it’s a right, and one that shall not be infringed.
So for now, Illinois gun owners can breathe a small sigh of relief. The battle isn’t over, but at least this ruling puts the state on notice: the Constitution still matters, whether they like it or not.
