Kurt Hofmann

• St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner

• View all of Kurt’s articles

With the failure last week (for now, anyway) of Illinios HB 148, to permit defensive handgun carry, the anti-self-defense lobby indulged in some predictable gloating. From the Brady Campaign’s Paul Helmke:

The Illinois House of Representatives yesterday rejected a bill, HB 148, that would have allowed all sorts of individuals to carry loaded, hidden handguns in Illinois communities and on the streets of cities from Chicago to Cairo. We congratulate the Illinois State House for seeing through the rhetoric and focusing on the real-life dangers of pushing loaded, hidden guns into sensitive public places. We also want to thank Gov. Patrick Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Illinois gun violence prevention advocates for their strong opposition to the legislation.

Mr. Helmke might want to keep the cork in the champagne bottle for now, though, because the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is fighting back in the courtroom:

The Second Amendment Foundation has filed suit in federal court in Illinois, challenging the state’s complete prohibition on the carrying of firearms in public for the purpose of self-defense.

The lawsuit alleges that Illinois statutes that completely ban the carrying of handguns for self-defense are “inconsistent with the Second Amendment.” Joining SAF are two private citizens, Michael Moore of Champaign and Charles Hooks of Percy. Named as defendants are Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and State Police Superintendent Patrick Keen. SAF is represented by attorneys David Jensen and David Sigale. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

With the Supreme Court having already ruled in the Heller and McDonald cases that the right protected by the Second Amendment is a right of individuals, and one that must be honored by state and local governments, anti-gun lobby groups have been reduced to protesting that those cases only found Constitutional protection for the keeping of arms in the home. That’s true, as far as it goes.

Unfortunately for those groups, and fortunately for America, the Second Amendment protects not only the right to keep arms, but to bear them, as well. The “gun control” groups’ allies on the federal bench (and they have more than a few of them) will presumably be hard pressed to master the mental gymnastics required for an argument that the “keep” part of “keep and bear arms” is an individual right, but the “bear” part isn’t.

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By completely banning both concealed and open carry for private citizens, the government of Illinois has demonstrated its utter contempt for the Constitution, and Illinois citizens whose rights that document guarantees.

Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Dave Workman has more: SAF sues Illinois over prohibition on self-defense carry.

In other Illinois gun rights news, we also have Illinois HB 3500, to protect the confidentiality of Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card holders. As we last discussed here, the need for such legislation became apparent when Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan ruled that the state police must release that data, as requested by Associated Press (who wanted to write a “what Illinois celebrities are armed” article–seriously).

The Illinois State Rifle Association ISRA says that HB 3500 could be voted on in committee any day now:

HB3500 will come before the Executive Committee at anytime. This bill is amended to be an exception for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, in order to keep firearms ownership information private. Under this bill, information about those who have applied for or received a Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID) shall not be disclosed unless it is necessary as part of a criminal investigation.

The above ISRA link lists names and office phone numbers for the Executive Committee members. Please call today, Illinois gun owners.

The Brady Campaign recently released, to much fanfare (or maybe not), state gun law “score cards,” ranking Illinois as the state with the ninth most draconian gun laws in the U.S. Illinoisans need to change that.

See also:

• Associated Press wants to know who can own guns in Illinois
  
• Wagging the Madigan to Prevent CCW?
• Is AG’s FOID data dump ruling a diversion to thwart concealed carry in IL?
• FOID data publication has nothing to do with government accountability
  
• Savagely beaten Illinois woman pleads for right to defend herself
  
• Outing “FOIDers”
  
• Law enforcement support for concealed carry in Illinois still growing
  
• Protection of Illinois gun owners’ privacy picking up steam
  
• Working to keep citizens disarmed, seeking long term, tax-supported bodyguards
  
• SAF sues Illinois over prohibition on self-defense carry
• Moore v. Madigan: SAF Sues Illinois Over Ban On Carrying For Self-Defense
  

By Kurt Hofmann

• St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner

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  2nd Amendment Foundation sues Illinois, Illinois Gun Rights, Kurt Hoffman, St Louis Gun Rights Examiner