Day 109 ~ “Unafoidable”

Day 109 ~ “Unafoidable”  

Apr 19, 2014     

My first: I applied for a Firearms Owner Identification card (FOID).

My friend Marsha is very supportive and enthusiastic about the “firsts” that I am doing this year. The last time that we went out with a group of friends she excitedly said “I know something you can do for a first!” She had just gone to the Edwardsville Gun Club and done some clay skeet shooting. Now I am NOT a gun person at all, but this sounded very different and kind of fun.  She said that I would need a FOID card in order to be able to do this. FOID card? What’s that?

A week or two later I called the Edwardsville Gun Club to ask about this ordeal of acquiring a FOID card. The man I talked to said that they have guns there that I can borrow to shoot with without a FOID card…but I need a FOID card to purchase their ammunition...or I can bring my own ammunition…but I would probably need a FOID card to purchase it from whatever store I chose...and if I get caught with ammunition in my car without a FOID card, I would really be in trouble with the law. I said that it sounds like getting a FOID card is “unafoidable”. He laughed.

It was time to go on line and complete the FOID application.  I entered all the information and printed it out. I taped a recent photo of me to the form, signed it, and wrote a $10 check. The sealed envelope with the form and check inside were ready for the mailman in the morning.

I’ve heard and read that there are a lot of FOID applications to be processed by the Illinois State Police so it may be months until I get my card. This adventure of clay skeet shooting could be on hold for quite a while. But that’s okay; I’ve waited this long...