Foster parents, home-based daycare operators cannot be denied their Second Amendment rights, FPC brief argues
CHICAGO – Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) have filed an important brief with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Miller v. Smith, urging the Court to reverse a misguided decision of the trial court that upheld Illinois law and regulations that bans firearm possession in child care facilities, including home day care facilities and foster family homes, and prevents an Illinois couple from exercising their fundamental right to keep and bear arms in their home. The brief, authored by FPCAF director of constitutional studies and Second Amendment scholar Joseph Greenlee, can be found at FPCLaw.org.
The brief makes clear that by prohibiting Jennifer and Darren Miller from possessing operable firearms within the home where they live and work, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is in clear violation of the Constitution. The brief argues that the Supreme Court’s 2008 Heller decision requires that courts place Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in defense of hearth and home above all governmental interests, that Heller’s “sensitive places” dictum is limited to carrying arms in public locations, that there is no historical justification for classifying a private home as a “sensitive place,” and that the law is poorly tailored because substantially less burdensome alternatives exist.
“The Second Amendment explicitly protects the right of the people to keep arms,” said Greenlee. “Forbidding people like the Millers to keep operable firearms in the home merely because they are foster parents or provide daycare is a clear violation of this fundamental right. We hope that the Seventh Circuit will reverse the wrongly decided lower court opinion.”
The filing of this important brief is made possible by FPC’s members and donors. Individuals who would like to join the FPC Grassroots Army can sign up at JoinFPC.org. Individuals and organizations wanting to support charitable efforts in support of the restoration of Second Amendment and other natural rights can also make a tax-deductible donation to the FPC Action Foundation. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, visit FPCLegal.org and follow FPC on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.
FPC Action Foundation (FPCActionFoundation.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty through charitable legal action, public policy, education, and research programs.
