State law banning concealed carry on public transit ruled
unconstitutional
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[September 04, 2024]
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
A federal judge in Rockford has declared a state law banning concealed
firearms on public transit systems unconstitutional – at least as it
applies to four individuals who challenged it in court.
But the law remains in effect for everyone else as the parties in the
case consider their next steps.
In a decision released Friday, Judge Iain D. Johnston said under current
U.S. Supreme Court standards, the law violates the Second Amendment of
the U.S. Constitution.
“After an exhaustive review of the parties’ filings and the historical
record, as required by Supreme Court precedent, the Court finds that
Defendants failed to meet their burden to show an American tradition of
firearm regulation at the time of the Founding that would allow Illinois
to prohibit Plaintiffs—who hold concealed-carry permits—from carrying
concealed handguns for self-defense onto the CTA and Metra,” he wrote.
Johnston cited the 2022 Supreme Court decision, New York State Rifle &
Pistol Association v. Bruen, which struck down a century-old law in New
York requiring individuals to show “proper cause” for needing to carry a
firearm before they could be issued a concealed carry permit.
The Illinois case challenged a portion of the state’s 2013 Firearm
Concealed Carry Act, which allows certain individuals to obtain permits
to carry concealed firearms in many public places.
But the law also lists several prohibited areas where it remains illegal
to carry concealed weapons, including “Any bus, train, or form of
transportation paid for in whole or in part with public funds, and any
building, real property, and parking area under the control of a public
transportation facility paid for in whole or in part with public funds.”
Four individuals who hold concealed carry permits filed suit in 2022 to
challenge the law, saying it prevented them from carrying their firearms
for self-defense on mass transit trains and buses in the Chicago
metropolitan area. They included Benjamin Schoenthal, of DeKalb County;
Mark Wroblewski, of DuPage County; Joseph Vesel, of suburban Cook
County; and Douglas Winston, of Lake County.
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A Chicago Transit Authority train is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol
News Illinois file photo)
Johnston’s ruling held that the law is unconstitutional, but only as it
applies to the four plaintiffs, meaning the law remains in effect for
everyone else.
A spokesperson for Raoul, a defendant in the case, said that office
would likely appeal the ruling. A spokesperson for Cook County State’s
Attorney Kimberly Foxx, who was also named as a defendant, declined to
comment.
Asked about the decision at an unrelated event Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker
said he disagreed with Johnston’s opinion. He said the rights protected
under the Second Amendment are not absolute and that there should be
limits on the kinds of weapons people are allowed to carry and where
those weapons should be permitted.
“So it's clear that there are some misguided decisions that get made at
the circuit court level, the federal court level, and I'm hoping that it
will be overturned along the way, if it has to all the way the Supreme
Court,” he said. “It will be disappointing if they uphold this. But I'm
hopeful that the law that was passed in Illinois a number of years ago,
that's frankly done a lot to keep people safe, will be upheld.”
In July, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of challenges to
the state’s 2021 ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity
magazines, at least for the time being. Several lawsuits seek
preliminary injunctions to block enforcement of that law while the cases
are being tried, but the court said it would not hear those challenges
until after the lower courts have conducted their trials.
The first of those trials is scheduled to begin Sept. 16 in U.S.
District Court in East St. Louis.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is
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It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert
R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the
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