Avoid a Gun Charge In Illinois
As a Defense Attorney, it seems that every time one of my clients is pulled over by the police they have a gun in the car. This shouldn’t be a problem because the United States allows us the right to carry guns. However, in Illinois in order to possess a gun a person must have a Firearms Owners Identification (FOID) card.
A FOID card looks like a license that you can carry in your wallet. You can apply for a FOID card with the Illinois State Police (ISP). There are several different factors that may cause the ISP to reject your application, but the major one is if you have been convicted of a felony. Once you have your FOID card, you can buy a firearm. Without a FOID card you are not allowed to carry or possess a firearm on your land, abode, or dwelling (your home), or a friend’s home (a place you were invited). If you do not have a FOID card, you are also not allowed to carry a broken down gun. So even if the gun is not working, you can’t carry it without your FOID card.
Most of the time when I talk to a potential client about a Gun case or Unlawful Use of a Weapon (UUW), the first thing that they mention is that they have a FOID card. Just because you have a FOID card does not mean you can carry a firearm on your person or in your car. In Illinois, in order to have a gun in a location other than your home or a friend’s home, you must have a Concealed Carry License (CCL). With this license a person is able to carry a concealed weapon on their person or in their car.
Concealed according to the Illinois statute means “a loaded or unloaded handgun carried on or about a person completely or mostly concealed from view of the public or on or about a person within a vehicle.”(430 ILCS 66/5). If you want to legally walk down the street with your gun on your person or drive with your gun in your car you must have a CCL.
In order to apply for a CCL you must be at least 21 years old. You must also have a current valid FOID card and completed firearms training. You cannot have a warrant for arrest (pending arrest). You also cannot have been ordered by the court to attend alcohol or drug treatment within the past 5 years. Finally, you cannot have been found guilty in any state of:
a misdemeanor involving physical force or violence to any person within 5 years preceding the date of the license application, or;
Two (2) or more violations relating to Driving Under the Influence.
If you are in Illinois and you want to legally own a gun and carry it in public, make sure that you have both a FOID card and a CCL.
Otherwise, you might just need to call me in order to represent you or a family member for a gun charge. Don’t go to court alone! Reach out to me, an experienced attorney regarding your gun charge today.
-Edward Speights, Esq.