Comments on: Brady Center urges federal courts to throw out challenges to Illinois’ restrictions on carrying guns in public http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/07/26/brady-center-urges-federal-courts-to-throw-out-challenges-to-illinois%e2%80%99-restrictions-on-carrying-guns-in-public/ The Rock River Times - THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1993 Thu, 23 May 2013 21:13:53 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Jack http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/07/26/brady-center-urges-federal-courts-to-throw-out-challenges-to-illinois%e2%80%99-restrictions-on-carrying-guns-in-public/comment-page-1/#comment-3605 Jack Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:53:52 +0000 http://rockrivertimes.com/?p=31725#comment-3605 If you have questions about the CWP law or need training contact www.e2c.us or 1-866-371-6111 and the Instructors at Equip 2 Conceal will be happy to help you. We are offering classes for the Florida non-resident permit which will give you 31 States in Illinois. If you have questions about the CWP law or need training contact http://www.e2c.us or 1-866-371-6111 and the Instructors at Equip 2 Conceal will be happy to help you. We are offering classes for the Florida non-resident permit which will give you 31 States in Illinois.

]]> By: Charles Nichols http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/07/26/brady-center-urges-federal-courts-to-throw-out-challenges-to-illinois%e2%80%99-restrictions-on-carrying-guns-in-public/comment-page-1/#comment-3596 Charles Nichols Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:03:50 +0000 http://rockrivertimes.com/?p=31725#comment-3596 A couple of courts have held that there is no right to carry a weapon concealed. The US Supreme Court in the Heller decision (2008) said that the right is to openly carry a firearm. Illinois does not just make it a crime to carry a firearm concealed, it is also illegal to openly carry a firearm in public in the state. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. HELLER Opinion of the Court Likewise, in State v. Chandler, 5 La. Ann. 489, 490 (1850), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that citizens had a right to carry arms openly: “This is the right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and which is calculated to incite men to a manly and noble defence of themselves, if necessary, and of their country, without any tendency to secret advantages and unmanly assassinations.” Few laws in the history of our Nation have come close to the severe restriction of the District’s handgun ban. And some of those few have been struck down. In Nunn v. State, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down a prohibition on carrying pistols openly (even though it upheld a prohibition on carrying concealed weapons). See 1 Ga., at 251. In Andrews v. State, the Tennessee Supreme Court likewise held that a statute that forbade openly carrying a pistol “publicly or privately, without regard to time or place, or circumstances,” 50 Tenn., at 187, violated the state constitutional provision (which the court equated with the Second Amendment). That was so even though the statute did not restrict the carrying of long guns. Ibid. See also State v. Reid, 1 Ala. 612, 616–617 (1840) (“A statute which, under the pretence of regulating, amounts to a destruction of the right, or which requires arms to be so borne as to render them wholly useless for the purpose of defence, would be clearly unconstitutional”). It is no answer to say, as petitioners do, that it is permissible to ban the possession of handguns so long as the possession of other firearms (i.e., long guns) is allowed. It is enough to note, as we have observed, that the American people have considered the handgun to be the quintessential self-defense weapon. There are many reasons that a citizen may prefer a handgun for home defense: It is easier to store in a location that is readily accessible in an emergency; it cannot easily be redirected or wrestled away by an attacker; it is easier to use for those without the upperbody strength to lift and aim a long gun; it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police. A couple of courts have held that there is no right to carry a weapon concealed. The US Supreme Court in the Heller decision (2008) said that the right is to openly carry a firearm.

Illinois does not just make it a crime to carry a firearm concealed, it is also illegal to openly carry a firearm in public in the state.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. HELLER

Opinion of the Court

Likewise, in State v. Chandler, 5 La. Ann. 489, 490 (1850), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that citizens had a right to carry arms openly: “This is the right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and which is calculated to incite men to a manly and noble defence of themselves, if necessary, and of their country, without any tendency to secret advantages and unmanly assassinations.”

Few laws in the history of our Nation have come close to the severe restriction of the District’s handgun ban. And some of those few have been struck down. In Nunn v. State, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down a prohibition on carrying pistols openly (even though it upheld a prohibition on carrying concealed weapons). See 1 Ga., at 251. In Andrews v. State, the Tennessee Supreme Court likewise held that a statute that forbade openly carrying a pistol “publicly or privately, without regard to time or place, or circumstances,” 50 Tenn., at 187, violated the state constitutional provision (which the court equated with the Second Amendment). That was so even though the statute did not restrict the carrying of long guns. Ibid. See also State v. Reid, 1 Ala. 612, 616–617 (1840) (“A statute which, under the pretence of regulating, amounts to a destruction of the right, or which requires arms to be so borne as to render them wholly useless for the purpose of defence, would be clearly unconstitutional”). It is no answer to say, as petitioners do, that it is permissible to ban the possession of handguns so long as the possession of other firearms (i.e., long guns) is allowed. It is enough to note, as we have observed, that the American
people have considered the handgun to be the quintessential self-defense weapon. There are many reasons that a citizen may prefer a handgun for home defense: It is easier to store in a location that is readily accessible in an emergency; it cannot easily be redirected or wrestled away by an attacker; it is easier to use for those without the upperbody strength to lift and aim a long gun; it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police.

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