2nd Amendment – Application for Firearm – Constitutionality

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Tempest Horsley v. Jessica Trame

Case No: 14-2846

Officials: POSNER and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges, and WOOD, District Judge.

Practice Area: 2^nd Amendment – Application for Firearm – Constitutionality

Requirement that 18 – 20-year-old adults applying for FOID card have parent or guardian signature not unconstitutional.

“We conclude that Illinois has shown a sufficient means-end relationship between the challenged statute and an important government interest. Illinois’s decision to use parents as a first check on firearm possession by persons under 21 is reasonable. The parent or guardian signature provision provides for an individualized assessment of the applicant’s fitness for possession of a firearm by a person likely to be in the best position to make such an evaluation. That signature also subjects the parent to liability for harm caused by firearm ownership. The legislature could reasonably conclude that many persons under 21 would not have the financial ability to compensate a person injured in a firearms incident, and the signature provision in the Illinois statute provides a means for an additional source of income in that event. If no parent or guardian is willing or able to sign the application, the Illinois statute provides that another person can make the individualized assessment—the Director of State Police. The challenged provisions in the FOID Card Act are substantially related to the state’s important interests, and we do not find the law unconstitutional. See United States v. Decastro, 682 F.3d 160, 168 (2d Cir. 2012) (stating that a “law that regulates the availability of firearms is not a substantial burden on the right to keep and bear arms if adequate alternatives remain for law-abiding citizens to acquire a firearm for self-defense.”).”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.