PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MOUNTAIN STATES LEGAL FOUNDATION CHALLENGES ILLINOIS’S 72-HOUR FIREARM WAITING PERIOD
Lawsuit argues arbitrary delay violates the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (July 8, 2026)—Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF), together with the National Rifle Association of America, the Illinois State Rifle Association, and Clement & Murphy PLLC, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Illinois’s law requiring law-abiding citizens to wait 72 hours before taking possession of a legally purchased firearm, even after passing a background check and receiving approval to own one.
The lawsuit, Pearlstein v. Raoul, was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of Illinois residents, firearm retailers, and NRA and ISRA members affected by the state’s mandatory waiting period.
Among the plaintiffs are Gayle Pearlstein, a firearms instructor, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Lox & Loaded, and Joseph Schiavone, owner of Voodoo Firearms in Minooka, Illinois. Pearlstein challenges the law as an experienced firearm owner and instructor who must wait three days to take possession of a firearm after passing a background check, while Schiavone challenges the law’s burden on firearm retailers who face criminal penalties for transferring firearms before the waiting period expires.
“Laws like these have nothing to do with ‘public safety’ and everything to do with the government making it as difficult and time consuming as possible for law-abiding citizens to exercise their right to keep and bear arms,” said Director of MSLF’s Center to Keep and Bear Arms, Michael McCoy.
Illinois law requires all firearm purchasers to wait 72 hours before taking possession of a firearm, regardless of whether they have previously owned firearms, completed extensive training, or already passed the required background check.
MSLF argues that the law violates the Second Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens from immediately exercising a fundamental constitutional right after they have already been deemed eligible to do so.
The lawsuit also challenges the law’s impact on firearm retailers, who face criminal penalties for transferring firearms before the waiting period expires, even when the purchaser is legally authorized to possess the firearm.
MSLF is asking the court to declare Illinois’s waiting period unconstitutional and permanently prohibit the state from enforcing it.
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Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) is a nonprofit, public-interest legal firm established in 1977. MSLF is dedicated to individual liberty, limited and ethical government, and the benefits of the free enterprise system. MSLF defends its clients through pro bono litigation and seeks victory for its clients at the highest level possible to establish binding legal precedents to benefit millions of Americans. Through its litigation and public discourse, MSLF educates the American public on the threat unrestrained government presents to our liberties. Learn more at mslegal.org
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