Criminals have carried concealed weapons freely for decades in Illinois, of course. Only law-abiding citizens have been affected by the state's ban... with predictable results, as crime rates, murder rates, assaults, rapes of law-abiding citizens etc. have soared.
Now, at last, criminals can no longer be sure their intended victim has been disarmed by the state. Though most Illinois residents still won't bother carrying, a few will. And the criminals will never know which ones they are. Or even whether some other passer-by has a gun and the willingness to use it.
It's enough to make a criminal consider taking up a different line of work. Gee, that's too bad
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http://blogs.suntimes.com/politics/2...d_weapons.html
Appeals court overturns Illinois concealed carry law in gun rights victory
by Dave McKinney on December 11, 2012 11:21 AM
SPRINGFIELD - In a huge win for gun-rights groups, a federal appeals court in Chicago Tuesday tossed the state's ban on carrying concealed weapons and gave Illinois' Legislature 180 days to craft a law legalizing concealed carry.
"The debate is over. We won. And there will be a statewide carry law in 2013," said Todd Vandermyde, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association.
In a split opinion (see below), the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling in two cases downstate that upheld the state's longstanding prohibition against carrying concealed weapons.
Illinois is the only state with an outright prohibition on concealed carry.
"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," Judge Richard Posner wrote in the court's majority opinion.
"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," he continued.
"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," Posner wrote.
"The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Second Amendment therefore compels us to reverse the decisions in the two cases before us and remand them to their respective district courts for the entry of declarations of unconstitutionality and permanent injunctions," he continued.
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