Illinois Supreme Court weighs challenge to state gun restriction
[March 11, 2026]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Supreme Court began weighing arguments
Tuesday in a case that challenges the state’s ability to prohibit people
with nonviolent felony convictions from possessing a firearm.
At issue is whether state laws governing the possession of firearms
conflicts with the latest U.S. Supreme Court standard on the Second
Amendment, which says laws that limit a person’s right to bear arms must
be consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm
regulation.”
“The Second Amendment protects a core constitutional right, the right to
bear arms,” Elizabeth Cook, of the State Appellate Defender’s office,
told the court Tuesday. “… Just as we would agree that a former felon
has the right to a jury trial or the right to free speech, so we should
presume that every free American is a member of ‘the people’ and
entitled to full constitutional protection, including the right to bear
arms.”
Although the issue before the court concerns only one individual and how
he was affected by the state law prohibiting anyone with a felony
conviction from possessing a firearm, a ruling in his favor could set a
precedent for other people with nonviolent felony convictions.
The case involves James Benson, who was arrested in Cook County
following a domestic dispute with his girlfriend on Christmas Eve in
2021. During the altercation, a .40 caliber handgun was fired, although
there was conflicting testimony about who fired the gun and who owned
it.
Benson was eventually convicted of misdemeanor battery, reckless
discharge of a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
The latter charge stemmed from Benson’s earlier conviction in 2015 for
aggravated unlawful use of a weapon without a Firearm Owner’s
Identification card, a felony.
In his appeal, Benson argues the statute prohibiting people with felony
convictions from possessing firearms is unconstitutional, but only as it
was applied in his case.
Under Illinois law, it is illegal for anyone “to knowingly possess … any
firearm or any firearm ammunition if the person has been convicted of a
felony under the laws of this State or any other jurisdiction.”
He was sentenced to three-year terms on the battery and reckless
discharge convictions and four years for the unlawful possession charge,
all to be served concurrently.
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling in Bruen
v. New York State Rifle & Pistol Association that established a two-part
test for reviewing gun control regulations. The first step asks whether
the law infringes on conduct that is protected under the plain text of
the Second Amendment, which says, “… the right of the people to keep and
bear arms shall not be infringed.”
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The Illinois Supreme Court is considering a challenge to a state law
that prohibits people with any felony conviction from owning or
possessing a firearm. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
If a law or regulation does infringe on protected activity, the second
step is to consider whether the regulation is consistent with the
historical tradition of regulating firearms.
Assistant Attorney General Garson Fischer argued the state law is
consistent with historical precedents.
“And we know it is because dating back to colonial times, penalties (for
unlawful possession of a weapon) far more severe than mere disarmament
were imposed on all felons, including nonviolent felons, people
convicted of things like counterfeiting and forgery,” Fischer told the
court.
Cook, with the appellate defender’s office, acknowledged there is a long
history of regulation in America aimed at keeping weapons out of the
hands of people who have demonstrated they pose a danger of violence.
But she said there is no rational reason for taking away someone’s
constitutional right to bear arms for nonviolent offenses just because
they are classified as felonies.
“In Illinois, we have a lot of felonies that are not characterized by
dangerousness,” she said. “For example, eavesdropping, driving on a
revoked license, transporting hazardous waste without a permit, home
repair fraud — these things are all felonies that do not carry any
threat of physical violence to another person.”
Fischer, however, argued that Illinois law allows people with previous
felony convictions to obtain a FOID card by petitioning a court and
demonstrating they do not pose a danger to the community.
“The time to do that would have been before he again illegally possessed
a firearm, by taking advantage of the mechanism in the FOID card act to
petition for the restoration of one’s firearm rights,” he said.
But Cook countered that process is also constitutionally questionable
under the Bruen decision because the decision to grant or not grant a
petitioner’s request under that process is completely discretionary.
The court took the case under review but did not indicate when a
decision would be issued.
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