Conceal-carry measure makes gains in Illinois - STLtoday.com



Conceal-carry measure makes gains in Illinois
By Kevin McDermott
POST-DISPATCH SPRINGFIELD BUREAU
Wednesday, Mar. 03 2010
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gun rights proponents in the Illinois Legislature began
pushing several measures Tuesday to allow residents to carry concealed weapons,
timing the moves with a U.S. Supreme Court challenge of Chicago's long-standing
gun ban.

"It is a very important day for gun owners today," state Rep. John Bradley,
D-Marion, told the House Agriculture & Conservation Committee. The committee
later voted to advance one of the bills.

Currently, Illinois is one of just two states where conceal-carry is illegal.
The other, Wisconsin, allows "open" carry, which Illinois doesn't.

Like Missouri's conceal-carry law, the Illinois proposal would require
applicants to have clean criminal histories and no mental health issues.
Exemptions would continue to ban handguns in bars, casinos, horse tracks,
schools, stadiums and other venues.

"This is not going to create 'the Wild West'€Š" in Illinois, said Bradley.

State Rep. Julie Hamos, D-Chicago, seized on those exemptions as proof that
even proponents fear that "people who carry concealed weapons are inherently
unsafe."

"Why would you exempt anyone from carrying a concealed weapon in a bar? … Why
shouldn't you carry a gun to school?" Hamos asked the proponents. "These are
the reasons my constituents would say, 'We shouldn't let anyone walk around
with a gun.'€Š"

The measure passed the committee 11-1, with Hamos as the only "no" vote.

The measure now moves to the full House, where its fate is uncertain. The
committee that advanced the bill Tuesday is populated largely by pro-gun rural
downstate lawmakers, but the full House is controlled by anti-gun Chicago
Democrats.

Sponsors of the measure are taking as their inspiration a highly publicized
legal challenge to Chicago's long-standing gun ban, which was argued Tuesday
before the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court is widely expected to use the
case to roll back gun-control restrictions in local communities.

Also on Tuesday, a state Senate committee considered a bill to establish a
conceal-carry pilot program in Peoria, Ill., and two others to allow state's
attorneys and corrections officers to carry weapons while off duty. All three
measures were assigned to a subcommittee for further review.

The Senate Public Health Committee heard testimony from Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis
in favor of the bill to establish a conceal-carry pilot program in that city.

"The truth is, the laws restricting our ability to carry only apply to those of
us who abide by the law," said Ardis, employing a common argument among
pro-conceal-carry advocates. "Prohibition of our right to own and carry a
firearm only gives … criminals more power."

The statewide conceal-carry measure is HB6249. The Peoria pilot program measure
is SB3292. The measures to allow conceal-carry by state's attorneys and
corrections officers are SB3510 and SB3314.

Kathleen Foody of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

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Bob
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