Someone sent in an application for a gun permit that included a $5 check and the following information:

Last Name: Ludwig
First Name: Bubba                                  
Date of Birth: 2006                         
Sex: Male  Race: White
Height: 2 ft 3 in  Weight: 20 lbs

Have you ever been convicted of a felony? No
In
the past 5 years, have you been a patient in any medical facility or
part of any medical facility used primarily for the care or treatment
of persons for mental illness? No
Are you addicted to narcotics? No
Are you mentally retarded? No
 Are you an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States? No

Signature: [a scribble]

There’s one important question they didn’t ask: Are you an infant? 

If they had, the Illinois State Police would have learned that they
were about to issue a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card to a
10-month-old baby named Howard David Ludwig. His father, also named
Howard, filed the form after someone bought the baby a 12-gauge shotgun.

“As a FOID cardholder, baby Bubba can own a firearm and ammunition in
Illinois. He can also legally transport an unloaded weapon — though he
can’t walk yet, so that’s not an issue,” his father writes in the Daily Southtown,
where he works as a columnist. “The plastic card has a picture of a
toothless, grinning Bubba in the upper right corner. It includes his
name, address and date of birth.”

In their defense, the police say they’re following the law. “There
is nothing in the FOID Act or any of the rules that says anything about
age restrictions,” Lt. Scott Compton tells the paper.

(Photo of Bubba holding his gun permit taken by Brett Roseman, The Daily Southtown via AP.)