Dual Lawsuits Challenge Illinois Over Right to Carry

The NRA and the Second Amendment Foundation have each filed lawsuits against the State of Illinois in federal court as the battle over carry intensifies.  Illinois is the only state in the union where carry of firearms, open or concealed, is almost completely prohibited across the board.

From the NRA:

The National Rifle Association is funding and supporting a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality ofIllinois’ complete and total ban on carrying firearms for self-defense outside the home.  The case, filed Friday, May 13, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, is Shepard v. Madigan. The lead plaintiff is church treasurer Mary Shepard; joining her is the Illinois State Rifle Association, the NRA’s state affiliate.

Mary Shepard is an Illinois resident and a trained gun owner with no criminal record, who is licensed to carry a concealed handgun in two other states.  Because Illinois remains the only state that completely prohibits all law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms for self-defense outside the home, Mary Shepard also became a crime victim. While working as the treasurer of her church, Mrs. Shepard and an 83-year-old co-worker were viciously attacked and beaten by a six-foot-three-inch, 245-pound man with a violent past and a criminal record.  Mrs. Shepard and her co-worker were lucky to survive, as each of them suffered major injuries to the head, neck and upper body.  Mrs. Shepard’s injuries required extensive surgery and physical therapy.

“Mary Shepard isn’t just a victim of the violent criminal who attacked her,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox.  “She is also a victim of anti-self-defense activists in the Illinois legislature who have consistently refused to recognize that good people have the right to protect themselves when they go about their everyday business.  We’re pleased that the legislature has come closer this year than ever before to changing the law, but close isn’t good enough for Mary Shepard and the thousands of other Illinois residents who are prohibited by statute from defending themselves outside the home.”

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From the SAF:

The Second Amendment Foundation has filed suit in federal court in Illinois, challenging the state’s complete prohibition on the carrying of firearms in public for the purpose of self-defense.

The lawsuit alleges that Illinois statutes that completely ban the carrying of handguns for self-defense are “inconsistent with the Second Amendment.” Joining SAF are two private citizens, Michael Moore of Champaign and Charles Hooks of Percy. Named as defendants are Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and State Police Superintendent Patrick Keen. SAF is represented by attorneys David Jensen and David Sigale. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

“Illinois is currently the only state in the country that imposes a complete prohibition on the carrying of firearms for personal protection by its citizens,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “The state legislature recently stopped, by a thin margin, a concealed carry measure. After the 2008 Heller ruling and last year’s McDonald ruling against the City of Chicago that incorporated the Second Amendment to the states, one would think that Illinois lawmakers would act quickly to comply with court decisions and the constitution.”