Blake Preston-Illinois law banning concealed carry on public transit is unconstitutional, judge rules

2025-05-01 23:50:42source:Devin Grosvenorcategory:Markets

SPRINGFIELD,Blake Preston Ill. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that an Illinois law banning the concealed carry of firearms on public transit is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston in Rockford ruled last Friday with four gun owners who filed a lawsuit in 2022 contending that their inability to carry weapons on buses and trains violated their Second Amendment right to self-defense.

Johnston relied on a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court case from 2022 that established that gun laws must be consistent with conditions found in the late 1700s when the Bill of Rights was composed. No regulation on where weapons could be carried existed.

Illinois became the nation’s last state to approve concealed carry in 2013. The law established a number of places that were off limits to guns, such as public arenas, hospitals, buses and trains.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul said through a spokesperson that he was reviewing the decision and would likely appeal.

He noted that until there’s a final judgment in the matter, gun owners should continue to abide by concealed-carry provisions; Johnston’s ruling currently applies only to the four plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit.

More:Markets

Recommend

Snowflakes, Death Threats and Dollar Signs: Cloud Seeding Is at a Crossroads

Listen to an audio version of this story below.Humans have the technology to literally make snow fal

Lawyer behind effort to remove Fani Willis from Georgia Trump case testifies before state lawmakers

ATLANTA (AP) — The lawyer who initiated the effort to remove Fani Willis from the Georgia election i

Embattled New York Community Bancorp gets $1 billion cash infusion, adds Steven Mnuchin to its board

NEW YORK (AP) — Embattled New York Community Bancorp announced a lifeline of more than $1 billion fr