On May 31, the Illinois House of Representatives passed concealed carry legislation by a vote of 89-28. The Illinois Senate passed the same bill earlier in the day by a vote of 45-12. The large majorities guarantee that the legislature can override any potential veto by the governor.
That means Illinois–the only state in the union that does not currently allow some form of either concealed or open carry–will soon join all the other states in allowing citizens to be better prepared to defend their lives and property.
But as the Huffington Post reports, there are a few questions regarding the implementation of that legislation because it institutes a state-wide policy on concealed carry while also allowing local anti-gun ordinances to remain in place. That was part of the “compromise” that had to be struck to get the bill through.
At the same time, the concealed carry legislation lessens and/or augments some of the “local [controls] on handguns and lawful transportation of firearms” throughout the state.
As initially proposed, the bill that passed on May 31 would have superseded local ordinances. But that aspect of the legislation was discarded after Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Senate Democrats successfully fought it.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins
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