SAF Sues Illinois Over Foster Parents' Civil Rights

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today filed a lawsuit against the State of Illinois on behalf of two foster parents, alleging deprivation of civil rights under color of law. The lawsuit is joined by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) on behalf of Kenneth and Colleen Schults in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Named as a defendant in the case is George H. Sheldon, in his official capacity as director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS).

The complaint contends that Mr. and Mrs. Schults have been denied their rights because IDCFS policy substantially prohibits foster parents, and those who would like to be foster parents, from possessing firearms for the purpose of self-defense. This violates their constitutional rights under the Second Amendment. “After the number of times we’ve had to take legal action in Illinois, including our landmark U.S. Supreme Court Second Amendment victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago six years ago, one would think the state would have wised up by now,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “But here we are again, working with ISRA, fighting for the rights of law-abiding citizens in that state.” SAF and its co-plaintiffs seek to establish that the state’s restrictions on the possession and carrying of firearms by foster parents is unconstitutional under both the Second and Fourteenth amendments. “It was our legal action against Chicago’s handgun ban that incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment,” Gottlieb recalled. “It was another of our lawsuits that forced the State Legislature to adopt a concealed carry statute in Illinois. Now we’re in court to make sure that the state cannot discriminate against foster parents who merely wish to exercise the rights we’ve restored in Illinois.”

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