FOID Issues

[Ben_BlueOx]

Hi All,

I applied for the FOID card in July. Its now been 170 "business days" and still nothing. There is nobody you can reach out to as it is an automated service. Is there anything that can be done or am I just standing there with my pants down waiting for the state?

 

[Nick87]

Welcome to Illinois!! Most on here wont know what a foid is were the only state with this. Keep trying to reach the state police office. They had a large layoff because of the state's financial situation so everything is backed up. Your not alone I know of three other people who have applied for a renewal or change of adress and are in the same boat. Pretty sad. A little food for thought, if you lose your foid card or it is damaged and you apply for lost/damaged card the card you have/had is now in void. Meaning that the 70 days or 170 days or however long it is you are now an illegal gun owner in the state of Illinois!

 

[Nick87]

am I just standing there with my pants down waiting for the state?

If you plan on staying you may as well just throw the pants away. Make it easier so you dont have to take em off everyday before you bendover.

 

[MTLabrador]

Wow, I’ve lived a sheltered existence in Montana and Wyoming. My last handgun purchase took all of 5 minutes and I could have carried it concealed out of the store if I wanted to.

 

[Nick87]

Wow, I’ve lived a sheltered existence in Montana and Wyoming. My last handgun purchase took all of 5 minutes and I could have carried it concealed out of the store if I wanted to.

You dont know what your missing! It's really helped curb gun violence.

 

[DouglasR]

It took so long to get mine that i’d completely forgot I’d applied for one and when it showed up in an envelope from the Illinois state police I legit freaked out for a second.
“oh no! What did I do?”

 

[marksjeep]

NJ used to require a FOID card for everything.

 

[Nick87]

NJ used to require a FOID card for everything.

No longer in place?

 

[marksjeep]

I'm sure it is, but have not looked into it. I moved out of NJ a long time ago.

ETA - Looks like they call it a Firearms "purchaser" id card.

 

[Ben_BlueOx]

Wow, I’ve lived a sheltered existence in Montana and Wyoming. My last handgun purchase took all of 5 minutes and I could have carried it concealed out of the store if I wanted to.

I am originally from England, the gun/hunting culture is pretty much non existent there. The process I have experienced here in IL is just atrocious though. It is crazy to me how Laws can be so drastic from state to state.

 

[Ben_BlueOx]

Welcome to Illinois!! Most on here wont know what a foid is were the only state with this. Keep trying to reach the state police office. They had a large layoff because of the state's financial situation so everything is backed up. Your not alone I know of three other people who have applied for a renewal or change of adress and are in the same boat. Pretty sad. A little food for thought, if you lose your foid card or it is damaged and you apply for lost/damaged card the card you have/had is now in void. Meaning that the 70 days or 170 days or however long it is you are now an illegal gun owner in the state of Illinois!

Thats the issue, When you call them its all automated. So you can't actually talk to anybody. And you try a google search and everything is so heavily filtered, there is no way of finding a correct answer. Its absolutely disgusting how the second amendment is treated.

 

[Nick87]

Thats the issue, When you call them its all automated. So you can't actually talk to anybody. And you try a google search and everything is so heavily filtered, there is no way of finding a correct answer. Its absolutely disgusting how the second amendment is treated.

find a state cop or call the non emergency line down there. Try different parts of the department. You have to get creative. That's what I did anyway or just buy the gun illegally everyone else here doesI guess.

 

[Nick87]

Been thinking on this subject for a while today. I'm hoping @VikingsGuy could touch on this, maybe @Ben Lamb? Someone. Let's say you applied for a foid card in Illinois. Legally they have 60 or maybe its 90 days to issue or deny your app. Take the OP's situation hes 6 months in. Intruder breaks into to his house in meantime kills him or member of his family. He has no gun to defend himself is the state partly liable this?
Infringing on 2A? I have no idea something that just got me thinking today?

Scenario 2. You apply to renew as they do have an expiration date. In the meantime yours expires. Someone does break into your home with deadly intent and you shoot them. You have no valid FOID, are you going to jail?

 

[VikingsGuy]

Been thinking on this subject for a while today. I'm hoping @VikingsGuy could touch on this, maybe @Ben Lamb? Someone. Let's say you applied for a foid card in Illinois. Legally they have 60 or maybe its 90 days to issue or deny your app. Take the OP's situation hes 6 months in. Intruder breaks into to his house in meantime kills him or member of his family. He has no gun to defend himself is the state partly liable this?
Infringing on 2A? I have no idea something that just got me thinking today?

Scenario 2. You apply to renew as they do have an expiration date. In the meantime yours expires. Someone does break into your home with deadly intent and you shoot them. You have no valid FOID, are you going to jail?

I am not a IL licensed lawyer, but in general, there are many reasons this won't fly. Also, these are nuanced and tricky topics and I am only going to provide a few paragraphs of gut reaction - that means I will leave a lot of details, caveats, etc out and will oversimplify a lot, so take this with a strong dose of salt.

For starters, you can only "sue the king with his consent" - meaning you can only sue the state if it consents. I doubt IL has provided for its own liability in this case. Sometimes there are "general claims" laws, but it would be a stretch to fit this one in. Plus don't forget qualified immunity - bureaucratic speed is never going to get you past this. You could try a federal 1993 claim but qualified immunity probably kills this one too and I doubt Heller-permitted regulations would be considered violation of your 2A rights (see qualified immunity for the "your slowness deprived me of your rights" argument). There are also foreseeability and causality issues. Very low probability event, the typical gun owner just as likely to screw up as to prevail, etc.

Expiration question, again I would guess you are screwed, but I would get real advice if it was important to me and not just a hypothetical. I find this to be an infuriating outcome - the state's delay places you in violation of the law, but that is our reality - not just on 2A but in many areas of the law. I am starting to be a fan of killing qualified immunity, not just for cops, but for all govt employees. I understand why we put it in place, but the pendulum has swung too far in favor of govt incompetence and it is time to give the citizens the benefit of the doubt not the government.

 

[Nick87]

Kind of what I thought. But she's the expectation thing is total BS. If you try to renew more than 60 days prior to your expiration date you fall default into the application process not renewal which takes even longer. Bullshit to say the least.

 

[DouglasR]

Kind of what I thought. But she's the expectation thing is total BS. If you try to renew more than 60 days prior to your expiration date you fall default into the application process not renewal which takes even longer. Bullshit to say the least.

Chit chit chit chit chit chit chit
Must check expiration date when I get back to the car

 

[Nick87]

Chit chit chit chit chit chit chit
Must check expiration date when I get back to the car

Yah it's easy to forget. I got into a mess when my card was no longer legible from wear. I applied for a renewal for a new one. Not knowing at the time my card I held was now in void. That was a few years back went to pick up a new benelli and was denied.

 

[Cheesehead]

As I recall it took my buddy about a year to get his. This wouldn’t been in 2010 and as we all know government processes generally improve over time. There’s a reason I live across the border...

 

[SAJ-99]

Kind of what I thought. But she's the expectation thing is total BS. If you try to renew more than 60 days prior to your expiration date you fall default into the application process not renewal which takes even longer. Bullshit to say the least.

Never had a problem with a renewal when I lived in IL. Took about 4-6wks. I assume they (IL state police) are backlogged and the OP was from another country. That is a receipt for disaster. Sorry he to endure the delay.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

The Governor of Illinois issued an executive order that states any FOID that is expired is still valid until I believe June 2021 as long as you have applied for renewal. Your expired FOID and proof of renewal application should suffice as a valid FOID.