Federal Court Refuses State AG: Concealed Carry Stands in Illinois

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s request “to reconsider a ruling that found the state’s concealed carry weapons ban unconstitutional [in Dec. 2012].”

Madigan has argued that the December ruling overturning the ban was in conflict with other appeals court rulings and that it went beyond what the Supreme Court required.

The December decision had come via a three judge panel, so Madigan asked for the entire court to hear her appeal in hopes that the other justices would see things differently. But the court refused to consider the request.

As Judge Richard Posner said when striking down the concealed carry ban in December, the Supreme Court’s focus was on self-defense, and “the theoretical and empirical evidence… is consistent with concluding that a right to carry firearms in public may promote self-defense.”