NCLA Targets Illinois FOID Law in New Federal Lawsuit

New Civil Liberties Alliance has launched a direct constitutional challenge against Illinois’ controversial FOID card system, arguing the state has no authority to force citizens to get government permission before merely possessing firearms or ammunition.

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The new federal lawsuit, Laurent v. Kelly, was filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Brendan F. Kelly and other Illinois officials.

At the center of the fight is Illinois’ Firearm Owners Identification Card requirement. Better known as the FOID card.

Under current Illinois law, residents must obtain approval from the state before legally possessing any firearm or ammunition, regardless of whether the gun is carried publicly, used for hunting, or simply kept inside the home for self-defense.

NCLA says that flips the Constitution upside down.

“If you have a right to do something, that means you don’t need to ask the government’s permission,” said NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Jacob Huebert. “That’s how it’s supposed to work in America—but that’s not how it works now in Illinois.”

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Navy veteran Christopher Laurent, Chicago chef and restaurateur Kim Dalton, and liberty advocate Justin Tucker.

According to NCLA, Illinois and Massachusetts are now the only two states requiring residents to obtain a government-issued license simply to possess firearms.

And that’s the core argument here.

The group says the 2A protects firearm possession as a fundamental constitutional right, while the Fourteenth Amendment prevents states from stripping liberty without due process. Requiring citizens to proactively prove themselves eligible before exercising that right, they argue, effectively treats gun ownership like a privilege instead of a constitutional protection.

NCLA attorney John Vecchione framed the issue in blunt terms.

“We don’t ask a bureaucrat for permission to speak or worship,” Vecchione said. “We shouldn’t have to ask one before exercising the right of self-defense either.”

Importantly, NCLA says the lawsuit is not attempting to eliminate every form of firearm-related licensing nationwide. Instead, the organization is specifically targeting what it sees as Illinois’ unusually broad requirement that citizens obtain state approval before even possessing firearms in their own homes.

That distinction matters, especially as post-Bruen litigation continues reshaping gun laws across the country.

Since the Supreme Court’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision, gun rights groups have increasingly shifted toward challenging permit systems, “sensitive place” restrictions, and state licensing schemes they believe lack historical analogues under the Constitution.

NCLA President Mark Chenoweth said Illinois’ FOID system crosses a constitutional line.

“The point of having Constitutional rights is that we do not have to get the government’s permission to exercise them,” Chenoweth said.

For Illinois gun owners, this case could become one of the next major battlegrounds in the national fight over how far states can go in regulating firearm possession after Bruen.

And if NCLA wins, Illinois’ FOID system could face the biggest legal threat it’s seen in decades.

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