Federal Judge Rejects Immediate Concealed Carry in Illinois
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.30.13
An effort by gun rights advocates to allow concealed carry in Illinois now, rather than waiting an estimated 270 days before state police will issue permits, has been shot down by U.S. District Judge William Stiehl.
Earlier this month the Illinois state legislature moved forward to override Governor Pat Quinn’s veto of the concealed carry bill and pass HB 183, finally allowing concealed carry in the state. However, the Illinois State Police was given 180 days to finalize a permit program before taking applications and another 90 days to process them. With the backing of the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), a local affiliate of the National Rifle Association (NRA), gun rights advocate Mary Shepard filed a lawsuit calling for immediate concealed carry.
A press release from the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action explained that the lead plaintiff, Shepard, is a trained gun owner with no criminal record and is licensed to carry a concealed weapon in two other states. In 2009 she and a co-worker were brutally beaten at the church they were employed at and left for dead. It is a crime which she believes would not have occurred if Illinois allowed concealed carry.
“Mary Shepard isn’t just a victim of the violent criminal who attacked her,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “She is also a victim of anti self-defense activists in the Illinois legislature who have consistently refused to recognize that good people have the right to protect themselves when they go about their everyday business. We’re pleased that the legislature has come closer this year than ever before to changing the law, but close isn’t good enough for Mary Shepard and the thousands of other Illinois residents who are prohibited by statute from defending themselves outside the home.”
According to the Associated Press, Shepard argued that delaying any form of concealed carry until the permit process finished was unconstitutional and said it “constitutes an unacceptable perpetuation of the defendants’ infringement of the Second Amendment rights.” The ISRA stated that the lawsuit asks for an injunctive relief that would have allowed for Illinois residents to practice concealed carry following the new law without waiting for a permit.
Judge Stiehl did not agree, saying that the 270 days allotted for the permit process is not unreasonable nor is it an exact measure.
“The fact that this time period for establishing the permitting process is specified in the statute does not mean that it actually will take that amount of time for the state police to complete the process,” Stiehl wrote.
The Associated Press reports that it is unclear if Shepard or the ISRA will be seeking to file a separate complaint.
