U.S. appeals court strikes down state’s concealed-carry ban

EOTAC Discreet Clothing 09Chicago Tribune reporter Ray Long provides details on the U.S. appeals court ruling regarding concealed weapons in Illinois.
By Ray Long, Annie Sweeney and Monique Garcia Tribune reporters

1:15 p.m. CST, December 11, 2012

The state of Illinois would have to allow ordinary citizens to carry weapons under a federal appeals court ruling issued today, but the judges also gave lawmakers 180 days to put their own version of the law in place.

In a 2-1 decision that is a major victory for the National Rifle Association, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said the state’s ban on carrying a weapon in public is unconstitutional.

“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. 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 judges ruled.

U.S. appeals court strikes down state’s concealed-carry ban