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posted on 12/13/16

Beginning this January, the new administration has at least two opportunities to significantly impact handgun laws in Illinois.

In September 2016, a panel from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a pair of cases involving the District of Columbia’s restrictive carry law. D.C. is a “may issue” jurisdiction that allows decisionmakers to deny concealed weapons permits to otherwise qualified individuals; in contrast, Illinois is a “must issue” jurisdiction that has no such loopholes. Additionally, D.C. licensees must have a legitimate fear of injury or show a special need to carry guns, e.g. they often carry large amounts of cash.

In 2008, a sharply divided United States Supreme Court ruled that a similar D.C. law violated the Second Amendment. Under the current ordinance, the Metropolitan Police Department has issued 89 concealed carry permits and 374 denials.

Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC) said he will introduce the dissent collar” in an apparent silent protest of the election results. Finally, there are persistent rumors that 79-year-old Justice Anthony Kennedy may announce his retirement when the Court’s current term ends in June 2017.

Given the fact that the Trump era court may be decidedly more conservative that the Obama era court, and the fact that the Justices may want to put the D.C. handgun question to rest, a future concealed carry opinion may veer sharply to the right of the one in the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller case.

Legislative Action

Federal legislators are not the only ones who will deal with concealed carry laws this coming year because Illinois lawmakers may consider several such measures themselves. When the original concealed carry law passed, Republicans and Democrats made an informal agreement not to make substantive amendments for a year. That waiting period is now over, and it is open season (pardon the expression) in terms of CCW expansion.

In fact, lawmakers considered 139 such bills last year, and about 90% of them would have significantly loosed the CCW requirements and/or expanded the number of permitted locations to carry a firearm.

Rely on Experienced Attorneys

Regardless of what legal changes the new year does or does not bring, Schaumburg residents can count on an experienced criminal defense attorney from Glasgow & Olsson for an effective defense in a wide array of matters. Contact us today for a free consultation.

(image courtesy of Jens Lelie)