SAF SEEKS SCOTUS REVIEW OF IMPORTANT ILLINOIS CARRY CASE

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States to review a case challenging the State of Illinois’ ban on concealed carry by non-residents, asserting that without high court review, “virtually all Americans will be deprived of their full Second Amendment rights while in the State of Illinois, based on nothing more than their state of residence.”

Joining SAF in this legal action are the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), Illinois Carry and nine private citizens. They are represented by attorney David Sigale of Glen Ellyn, Ill., a veteran of Second Amendment cases in Illinois and elsewhere.

“This is a case that literally begs for Supreme Court attention,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “When the Court ruled in the 2008 Heller case that the Second Amendment protected a fundamental right, it was clear that this right belongs to everyone, not just the residents of an individual state. The Seventh Circuit held in Moore v. Madigan that the carrying of firearms in public for self-defense is a fundamental right, but under existing Illinois restrictions, that right has been limited to Illinois residents and citizens from only four other states.

“All the plaintiffs in this case are asking for is to be treated equally to Illinois residents,” he added. “They’re not asking for special treatment. They will take the training required by state law and abide by all the other rules.”

ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson added, “It is unfair that people from out of state cannot get an Illinois concealed carry license. We intend to remedy that.”

This is not the first legal action SAF has taken against Illinois. Its case in Moore v. Madigan paved the way for creation of a licensing system that allows concealed carry. Before that, SAF and ISRA sued Chicago to nullify its decades-old handgun ban. SAF and its partners in this case have been busy fighting to expand Second Amendment rights in the state since the landmark 2010 ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago.

“We’re determined to make sure that all law-abiding citizens are not forced to leave their Second Amendment rights at the state border when they travel into or through Illinois,” Gottlieb stated. “This is yet another example of trying to win back firearms freedom, one lawsuit at a time.”