If you purchase a firearm and intend to use it for safety, sport, or any legal purpose, you should be prepared to train with it so you know how to safely operate and handle it. You should also brush up on state and federal gun laws. You must understand what you can and cannot do with a weapon so you don’t unintentionally break the law and have to deal with a legal battle and potentially serious criminal implications.
For instance, if a person is playing with a loaded gun around others and it accidentally goes off, even if no one is injured, the person who recklessly handled the gun can be arrested and charged with Reckless Discharge of a Firearm under 720 ILCS 5/24-1.5. This is because Illinois punishes individuals who put others at risk of harm by behaving recklessly with their firearm.
Penalties for Reckless Discharge of a Firearm in Illinois
It is important to note that if you are convicted of Reckless Discharge of a Firearm in Illinois, it will be a Class 4 Felony. All of the following penalties are on the table:
- One to three years of time spent in prison
- Probation in appropriate cases, depending on the circumstance and your criminal history
- Significant fines and court costs
- A permanent felony conviction that will impact your criminal record and can have a negative ripple effect that may affect your life for a very long time
None of these consequences are ideal. All of them can change the course of your life, and not in a good way. Defending yourself with the help of an experienced Chicago gun violation defense attorney at Glasgow & Olsson will significantly improve your chances of obtaining a better, more desirable outcome.
Defenses for Reckless Discharge of a Firearm in Illinois
No two criminal cases are exactly the same, which is why the facts of a case will determine the right approach to take when developing a defense strategy. Given this, below illustrates some of the possible defenses that may apply to your specific situation:
- The firearm was not discharged recklessly.
- No person’s bodily safety was actually endangered.
- The discharge was purely accidental and did not involve criminal recklessness.
- The evidence is insufficient or unreliable.
- The accused acted lawfully in self-defense, or defense of another person when permitted by the law.
Get Qualified Legal Help Today
Understanding your rights and obtaining legal representation early when you are facing allegations of gun law violations in Illinois best positions you for the most favorable results. For more information, please speak with our Schaumburg criminal defense attorneys at Glasgow & Olsson today and learn how decades of trusted experience can protect what matters most to you.
Our law firm is widely recognized as a leading authority in criminal law. For this reason, Attorney Thomas T. Glasgow is a trusted legal voice who is regularly invited to appear on major networks, including ABC, CNN, NBC, CBS, and Fox News.
When your rights and freedoms are on the line, having an attorney on your side with an excellent reputation and unimpeachable experience matters.