Illinois' Concealed-Carry Ban Tossed By 7th Circuit

Illinois' law making it illegal for its residents to carry concealed firearms on their person or in their vehicles has been struck down by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago as a violation of the Second Amendment. The ruling also casts doubts on the legality of a Chicago ordinance that bans possession of a firearm outside the home. Judge Richard Posner wrote the 2-1 opinion.

"We are disinclined to engage in another round of historical analysis to determine whether eighteenth-century America understood the Second Amendment to include a right to bear guns outside the home. The Supreme Court has decided that the amendment confers a right to bear arms for self-defense, which is as important outside the home as inside." . . .

"The theoretical and empirical evidence (which overall is inconclusive) is consistent with concluding that a right to carry firearms in public may promote self-defense. Illinois had to provide us with more than merely a rational basis for believing that its uniquely sweeping ban is justified by an increase in public safety. It has failed to meet this burden." . . .

 "A gun is a potential danger to more people if carried in public than just kept in the home. But the other side of this coin is that knowing that many law-abiding citizens are walking the streets armed may make criminals timid." . . .

Judge Posner has given Illinois lawmakers six months to rewrite a state law that complies with the Second Amendment. "We went to court," said Todd Vandermyde, an NRA lobbyist. "We won. … Illinois will have a carry law by the Fourth of July. And if the mayor or the governor or anybody else doesn't like it, well, that's just too bad."