U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down State Concealed Carry Ban
State will now have 180 days to craft a new law to allow citizens to carry concealed weapons.
Illinois' status as the last state to have a ban on carrying concealed weapons has just been thrown out by a federal appeals court. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Chicago, gave the General Assembly 180 days to craft a law legalizing concealed carry. The full opinion is included as a PDF. "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," wrote Judge Richard Posner in today's majority opinion. "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." The law needs to "impose reasonable …
