Guns in Public Places: Where Do You Stand?

On Feb. 19 and Feb. 22, the state will stage public hearings to discuss a new concealed carry handgun law for Illinois.

Madigan Seeks Full Appellate Court Review of Concealed Carry Ruling

No determination of when the 10-judge panel will decide whether to look at last year's decision.

Illinois' attorney general Lisa Madigan has asked the entire 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to review a December ruling that overturned the state's ban on the concealed carry of handguns in public. The Chicago Tribune reports that the move is aimed at challenging the decision by a three-judge panel of the court, which ruled 2-1 that the state's longtime ban violated the Second Amendment. If the court accepts the petition, the case would be reviewed by all 10 appellate judges. If the court rejects the petition, Madigan would have to decide whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. "In ruling that Illinois must allow individuals to carry ready-to-use firearms in public, the 7th Circuit Court’s decision goes beyond what the U.S. Supreme …

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Court Strikes Down Illinois' Concealed-Carry Ban

An appeals court has decided Illinois' ban on carrying a weapon in public is unconstitutional.

A U.S. appeals court has ruled Illinois' ban on carrying a weapon in public is unconstitutional, according to the Chicago Tribune. Under the 2-1 ruling, the state would have to allow residents to carry weapons. But the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has given lawmakers 180 days to "craft a new gun law that will impose reasonable limitations, consistent with the public safety and the Second Amendment as interpreted in this opinion, on the carrying of guns in public," according to the Chicago Tribune.  Illinois is the only state to not have some form of conceal carry, according to the Chicago Tribune.  Here are some excerpts from the court's opinion:  "We are disinclined to engage in another round of historical analysis to determine …

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Jim Court

10:17 am on Friday, December 14, 2012

Government was theoretically built on a system of checks and balances to prevent the consolidation of power and the abuses inherent with this. I guess you could argue that concealed carry would achieve the same thing. Yes, it must be done properly and methods instituted to educate, qualify, and control any potential for abuse. In many ways I am against violence. The world is filled with way too …   more ›

Concealed Carry Bill Advancing in Springfield

Here is a roundup of some of the latest political news.

A number of state representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of a bill that would legalize the concealed carry of firearms in Illinois, the last state in the nation where some form of carry, concealed or open, is not legal. House Bill 5745 would allow sheriffs in the state’s 102 counties to issue concealed-carry permits, the Illinois Statehouse News has reported. People wanting a permit would have to pay a $65 fee and complete firearms training. No one with a criminal record would be given a permit. To approve this bill would require 71 votes in the House, instead of a simple majority of 60 votes. Because lawmakers decided that a statewide concealed-carry law would pre-empt local laws, the bill would require three-fifths of the chamber …

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