Illinois Concealed Carry: Where Should Guns Be Allowed?

Upcoming hearings on a potential state concealed carry law will mean much discussion. The topic already is gathering commenters on Patch. What's your take?

Patch on Politics

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.

Gun control hearings will convene before an Illinois House committee later this month, says Speaker Mike Madigan, and there will be much talk about a new concealed carry law. One hearing will take place in Chicago on Feb. 22, at the Michael A. Bilandic Building in Chicago. The other will be in Springfield on Feb. 19 at the Capitol. “In light of events in recent months in Illinois and in other parts of the country, it’s appropriate and necessary that we give a full vetting to proposed state legislation on this matter," reads a statement from Madigan. "These hearings will provide an opportunity for gun-safety advocates, gun-rights supporters and members of the law enforcement community to offer their views and argue their cases to …

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Madigan Seeks Full Appellate Court Review of Conceal 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, the Chicago Tribune reports. 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 whether …

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