FOID Card Odyssey

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Hurricane

Hurricane

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I suppose I should preface my tale with the fact that I understand the following is entirely my own fault. However, it still frustrates me and I would very much like to vent to those that I feel could relate.

I have been a law abiding gun owner in Illinois for 20 years. I had moved to another house in the same town but forgot to update my new address with the Secretary of State. This is the part I understand is entirely my fault, I got everything else switched over and that somehow slipped my mind. Fast forward a couple months and I snap off the top 1/8" of my FOID card in my wallet. No big deal, I'll order a replacement, right? Boy was I wrong.

I went to the Illinois State Police website and ordered the replacement card, complete with all my current information. It always takes a while for a replacement to arrive, so I thought nothing of it when it hadn't shown up after several weeks. One day I was picking up a stripped lower at a local shop and I passed the national check but the ISP said no. (I was under the impression my card was still good and that I was simply waiting on a new one that was fully intact. Businesses had always accepted my broken one as the missing piece had no information)

Immediately I became concerned, as I have never been arrested or had any trouble of any kind with the law save a couple speeding tickets. It was because the address info I gave the ISP when offering the replacement card did not match what the Secretary of State had on file. I recognize the error is on me, so I correct the necessary info, jump through all the hoops and then am informed it is a 30 day process for the new card. This is where I get irritated. American citizen, never been in trouble, unable to exercise my constitutionally recognized right for at least a month because I need a plastic card saying I am ok even though I passed the NICS check. (Not to mention been a valid card holder for many, many years)

Again, I realize it is on me, but what a bogus system. Where is my card or 30 day wait for freedom of speech? Right to a speedy/public trial? No illegal search and seizure? I don't know any different since I've lived here my whole life, and yes, it can be said I choose to live here, but I don't think I can stomach this crooked, corrupt, bankrupt state much longer. The West calls...

Anyways. Thanks for listening.
 
Oh, btw I completely missed the change that went into effect in 2013 about having to notify of an address change with 21 days. But regardless. I still feel the card is borderline unconstitutional.
 
Sorry for the mess in getting a new card. Personaly I don't think it is borderline unconstitution, I think it is flat out constitutional.

But it is the law regardless. The law makers somehow forgot the meaning of the word infringment .
 
I agree with you, I would also be p****d , I live in Oklahoma and have no requirements other than what Feds require.
I just ordered a Sar K2P 9mm on Sunday and picked it up Thursday, I can't imagine all the hoops you go thru.
It would drive me crazy, when I decide to get a gun I want it now ;)
 
FOID is blatantly unconstitutional. They have you guys completely brainwashed.

HB
 
Illinois is funny about that FOID card.
When I got my CCW, i sent all of the paperwork in and waited for the card. The card was guaranteed to be in my hands within a certain time frame (don't remember what that is now) but right around that time a ISP envelope shows up. I figured it was the CC permit but it turned out to be a new FOID card. I didn't order a new FOID card and my old one still had about three years before it expired. I was going to call about the problem but the next day the CC card shows up.
I mentioned this to a couple of friends and they said that they too got a new FOID card just before the CCW showed up.
I looked around a little bit and I can't find anything that mentions this but everyone that I've talked to with a CCW had the same experience.
 
Interesting. My DL and CCW permit are current but my FOID still has an old address. I have been able to purchase firearms with no issues. Yours is the reason I haven't updated it yet. Don't want to be in limbo for who knows how long. It is on my list of things to do but I plan on moving in another 1+ years.
 
Not updating your FOID address is not a good idea even if it is onerous. A FOID holder is obligated to do so. No one likes the FOID. Its utility only extends to the fact that it allows for individuals to do a background via the ISP in a private sale---a fact that may have short-circuited the many would-be 'universal background' yahoos riding from state to state. We already have a system in place for that citizens can use in private sales. That is about the only use I can see. And, it's fun to get one for your young child just because you can...:)
 
Oh, btw I completely missed the change that went into effect in 2013 about having to notify of an address change with 21 days. But regardless. I still feel the card is borderline unconstitutional
Click to expand...
If it's unconstitutional to require an ID card for voting, it's surely unconstitutional to require an ID card to buy or carry a firearm -- or drive a car, buy alcohol and tobacco, board an airliner, and so on.
 
I moved from IL to NM, concealed and open carry, bike is considered an extension of your home, great Albuquerque city gun range, NRA Whittington Center up the road in Raton, and half the state open to shooting being BLM or National Forest. Good riddance to the IL traffic and weather.
 
FOID is just another thing I don't miss since I left the not-so-great-state-of-ILL. I moved out as soon as my youngest kid graduated high school.
 
Technicalities and waiting are part of the system nowadays.

My background check usually comes back approved in 5-10min to purchase a firearm yet I have to wait "up to" 45 days for my CHP. I filed the paperwork for my CHP 6/30/16. The county clerk told me they "normally get them out in 2-3 weeks". This past Friday was the end of the 3rd week and still no permit.

All for something a lot of us feel we should inherently be able to do naturally under the constitution.
 
Hurricane said:
... One day I was picking up a stripped lower at a local shop and I passed the national check but the ISP said no... .
Click to expand...

That makes no sense. There is no "national check" in Illinois that I know of. When a buyer fills out the ATF Form 4473 in order to receive transfer of a firearm, the FFL then runs the background check through the Illinois State Police. The 'feds' do not say 'yes' or 'no' to the transaction..
 
skimbell said:
Illinois is funny about that FOID card.
When I got my CCW, i sent all of the paperwork in and waited for the card. The card was guaranteed to be in my hands within a certain time frame (don't remember what that is now) but right around that time a ISP envelope shows up. I figured it was the CC permit but it turned out to be a new FOID card. I didn't order a new FOID card and my old one still had about three years before it expired. I was going to call about the problem but the next day the CC card shows up.
I mentioned this to a couple of friends and they said that they too got a new FOID card just before the CCW showed up.
I looked around a little bit and I can't find anything that mentions this but everyone that I've talked to with a CCW had the same experience.
Click to expand...

Since a certain point in time (I believe it started in summer of 2015) everyone issued a CCL (Illinois calls it a Consealed Carry License) receives a new FOID Card also. The FOID expiration date remains the same, but the number is changed to be the same as the new CCL number. This is considered a feature of the whole program since a CCL holder may now use that CCL to purchase ammunition and to possess a firearm without also having to carry the FOID. Those who received their CCL during the first year and one-half or so did not receive a new FOID - they still use the old one.
 
And ... yes, the whole FOID deal mostly sucks, but it has been 'the law' in this state since 1968. For those unfamiliar with it, an Illinois resident basically can not possess, buy, or even touch a firearm (including many pellet guns, depending on caliber and muzzle velocity) or ammunition unless he or she has a FOID Card. The FOID Card number and expiration date is the state issued ID that must be used on the ATF Form 4473 in order to have the state police run the FFL background check for a transfer.

In Illinois there is a 3-day waiting period to receive a firearm transfer, or one day for rifles and shotguns, no matter whether coming from a dealer or an individual. Suppressors and SBRs are flat out prohibited. Unlike some other states in the gold old USA, however, Illinois does not have limits on how many or how often firearms may be purchased by an individual.
 
SBR's are not illegal. You just need a C&R FFL, and the tax stamp as necessary. After, I think, mid July, you didn't have to get a CLEO signature, but you still have to inform them.
 
Vern Humphrey said:
If it's unconstitutional to require an ID card for voting, it's surely unconstitutional to require an ID card to buy or carry a firearm -- or drive a car, buy alcohol and tobacco, board an airliner, and so on.
Click to expand...

Let's at least talk apples-to-apples and not apples-to-oranges here.

The Constitution has everything to do with such things as voting and keeping & bearing arms and nothing at all with driving a car, buying alcohol and tobacco, or boarding an airliner.

;)
 
If there is a way to make something difficult, expensive, or inconvenient, Illinois will find it. Even for something completely useless like the Foid.
It been part of Illinois so long that the ISRA even accepts it and won't fight it.
 
4banger said:
SBR's are not illegal. You just need a C&R FFL, and the tax stamp as necessary. After, I think, mid July, you didn't have to get a CLEO signature, but you still have to inform them.
Click to expand...

You are correct - I did over generalize there. Doesn't the SBR also have to be a C&R eligible firearm such as an artillery Luger or a Hi-Power pistol with the attachable butt stock?
 
Count yourself lucky you weren't prosecuted for failing to notify the change of address within the 21 days. You might well be here (if they are pissed at you in the Firearms License Manager's department over something else).
 
Let's at least talk apples-to-apples and not apples-to-oranges here.

The Constitution has everything to do with such things as voting and keeping & bearing arms and nothing at all with driving a car, buying alcohol and tobacco, or boarding an airliner.
Click to expand...
My point is, if requiring an ID card to vote is a violation of the voter's constitutional rights, surely requiring an ID card to exercise other constitutional rights must also be a violation.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hurricane View Post
... One day I was picking up a stripped lower at a local shop and I passed the national check but the ISP said no... .
That makes no sense. There is no "national check" in Illinois that I know of. When a buyer fills out the ATF Form 4473 in order to receive transfer of a firearm, the FFL then runs the background check through the Illinois State Police. The 'feds' do not say 'yes' or 'no' to the transaction..
Click to expand...

Sorry, I guess I should have clarified. What I meant was that I had no hit of any kind, but the ISP said no dice because of the incorrect information. It was my understanding that the check went to the ISP and they could use the NICS as part of their process for determining clearance. I was also under the impression you had to pass a NICS check when applying for the card to begin with. I have also read that each FOID cardholder is reran periodically to update the information and flag anyone that has had a hit. Not sure if I believe that last part or not.

Thank you to all who responded. It certainly has been a period of self-reflection.
 
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