Patch Flash: Court Rules IL Concealed Carry Ban Unconstitutional

Chicagoland news to talk about: Quinn pushes for marriage equality bill.

Gun-rights advocates claimed a major victory on Tuesday when a federal appeals court in Illinois struck down the state's ban on carrying concealed firearms, in a ruling that may have national repercussions if appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Before the 2-1 ruling, Illinois stood as the last state in the country maintaining an absolute prohibition on the carrying of concealed firearms by private citizens. The majority opinion, by Richard A. Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, found the ban on concealed weapons was unconstitutional under a 2008 Supreme Court decision overturning a sweeping handgun ban by the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court's decision in 2008 firmly established a constitutional right to armed self-…

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