Concealed carry coming to Chicago

ATCclears · Jul 1, 2013

Victims No More: Concealed Carry Coming to Chicago

The city that has long been synonymous with gun control, rampant crime, and the senseless killing of citizens is about to become a city in which law-abiding citizens can carry guns to defend their lives and the lives of their families.

Thanks to Illinois state lawmakers, concealed carry is coming to Chicago with or without Gov. Pat Quinn's (D) support, because the legislation passed with a veto-proof majority.

And while there are the usual naysayers warning that concealed carry will turn the Windy City into the Wild West, the AP reports there are many Chicago citizens eager to be able, finally to defend themselves from gang violence and criminal attack.

Among these citizens is 79-year old Otis McDonald, from McDonald v. Chicago (2010).

Said McDonald: "We just had a weekend where something like 48 people were shot, seven died....Now law abiding citizens like myself...can carry [a concealed weapon] when they want to and not carry them when they don't want to, and the people out there who will do us harm won't know when we got them and when we don't."

Once the legislation becomes law, it will require "the state police to issue a concealed carry license to any gun owner with a state-issued Firearm Owners Identification card, who passes a background check, pays a $150 fee, and undergoes 16 hours of training."

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins

nwbobber · Jul 1, 2013

Any one know what the 16 hours of training will require? 150 bucks is pretty steep, but I bet the state is gonna get rich with all the people applying for these.

drew · Jul 1, 2013

nwbobber said:
Any one know what the 16 hours of training will require? 150 bucks is pretty steep, but I bet the state is gonna get rich with all the people applying for these.

Don't worry about the state getting rich. They'll find a poor way to spend the extra money.

mancat · Jul 2, 2013

Bad news. Governor Quinn completely gutted the bill, and did so by questionable legality - it seems that the governor does not have the legal ability to veto specific sections of bills or add to them as he sees fit, but that's exactly what he's done.

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Amongst other changes, the CC law would now prohibit carrying in public establishments unless that establishment specifically states that guns are allowed - in other words, concealed carry will likely be prohibited everywhere, because almost zero businesses have such an allowance in illinois.

It would also restrict CCers to one ten-round magazine.

It makes it illegal for CCers to store a firearm in their vehicle when the vehicle is parked on property where firearms are prohibited. In other words, your vehicle ceases to be your own private property and domain. It also mandates that CCers lock up their firearms inside their vehicle when parking outside of said areas.

DMax · Jul 2, 2013

That will thin the bad guy herd.

BigStick · Jul 2, 2013

Hopefully the legislature will give a straight up or down vote on the original bill, pass it with the same number of votes (or better) and tell the Governor to deal with it.