It’s been a long time coming and anti-gun Democrats have fought against it every step of the way, but Illinois is mailing out the first batch of that state’s concealed carry permits today:

Illinois’ first concealed carry licenses were being sent out Friday and could arrive in mailboxes as early as Monday, Illinois State Police officials said.

That’s 5,000 approved applications out of some 46,000 received statewide, officials said Friday.

“We’re going to print as many as we can get through today and continue on Monday,” said Illinois State Police Col. Marc Maton, speaking to reporters downtown.

The blue-and-red licenses — about the same size as a driver’s license — are good for five years.

All approved applicants passed both criminal background and mental health checks, Maton said.