A U.S. District Judge has said that Illinois’ law against carrying a gun hidden on public transportation is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
Mark Wroblewski, Benjamin Schoenthal, Joseph Vesel, and Douglas Winston were the people who brought the lawsuit. They all said the ban was illegal because it broke the Second Amendment.
Both the Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation supported the case.
Judge Johnston pointed out:
“In Illinois, it is illegal to carry a gun in public. The Firearm Concealed Carry Act says that anyone with a concealed-carry card can carry a firearm in public…Although this general permission covers some places, like public transportation, it does not cover others.”
Then he brought up Bruen (2022) and said that it provided a framework for inspecting and testing gun laws.
Johnston used comments made by Kimberly Foxx, who is the State’s Attorney for Cook County and argued in favor of the ban. He then said, “Finally, and finally, no matter what else is true in the law, Ms. Foxx’s suggested framework goes against Bruen, which rejects the importance of place concerning whether certain behavior is supported by the Second Amendment.”
For the plaintiffs, he said that “the Firearm hidden Carry Act’s restriction on carrying hidden guns on public transportation, as described in the statute…breaks the Second Amendment.”
In response to the decision, Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, called it a “significant victory.” He said, “The court recognized Attorney Foxx’s argument that the gun ban was legal because the state of Illinois is acting as a so-called property owner was ‘jaw dropping,’ and that was not a compliment. It shows how far the government will go to try to explain why it wants to limit rights under the Second Amendment.”
