SAF Sues Illinois for Right to Carry

[Yellowfin]

NO place without right to carry will be left behind...

http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/sec...50580016020247

BELLEVUE, WA – 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.”

“Illinois is the only state in the country that completely prohibits its citizens from carrying guns for self-defense,” Jensen added. “It is incredible that this situation has persisted even in light of the Supreme Court’s rulings in Heller and McDonald, and we look forward to vindicating the rights of the people of Illinois.”

The lawsuit insists this case is not an attempt to force Illinois into some regulatory scheme, but only to clarify that the state’s current regulatory ban on firearms carry is impermissible under the Second Amendment.

“Every other state has some kind of regulatory scenario,” Gottlieb noted. “Even in Wisconsin, where there is no concealed carry statute, the state attorney general has recognized that open carry is legal. Only Illinois makes it statutorily impossible for average private citizens to carry firearms for self-defense.

“Whether Illinois lawmakers like it or not,” he added, “the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is the law of the land. A complete prohibition simply does not pass constitutional muster. The state cannot stick it’s head in the sand and pretend this problem does not exist..”

I guess we tried to let them pass it legislatively, so one way or the other we're not taking NO for an answer.

[bluedog46]

I thougth liberals like in illinoise were all Pro-Choice?

I guess than is only on killing in the womb than being able to chose if you want to carry a weapon so some gangbanger does not kill you

[Philadelphia]

Reminds me that it's time for me to send SAF another annual donation.

These guys (the SAF) seem to be the most effective at setting our rights straight and they are definitely taking names and kicking ass.

[Drylok]

Reminds me that it's time for me to send SAF another annual donation.

These guys (the SAF) seem to be the most effective at setting our rights straight and they are definitely taking names and kicking ass.

While it's great to have SAF tucked in right there in the heart of Chicago it's really illinoiscarry.com and the ISRA. But ya it's pretty awesome to have a group of 2A defenders behind enemy lines. I met them at IGOLD and they're a great bunch of people.

[mrjam2jab]

Seems that NRA wants a piece of the IL action.

NRA Files Suit Against Unconstitutional Ban On Carrying Firearms For Self-Defense In Illinois

Friday, May 13, 2011


The National Rifle Association is funding and supporting a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of Illinois' 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."

Because Illinois statutes prohibit the right to keep and bear arms and the ability to carry handguns in Illinois, they infringe on the right of the people, including Mrs. Shepard, members of the ISRA and other law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and are thus null and void.

Cox concluded: "In its historic Heller and McDonald decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear that the Second Amendment protects a fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms. Mary Shepard's story highlights the need for law-abiding citizens to be able to fully exercise their Second Amendment rights. Whether through the legislature or through the courts, we won't rest until that happens."

The NRA has also filed or supported the following cases to preserve Second Amendment freedoms across the United States since the historic Heller and McDonald rulings, and expects to file more in the coming months:

Benson v. City of Chicago, challenging Chicago's unconstitutionally burdensome handgun restrictions;

Heller v. District of Columbia (Heller II), challenging Washington, D.C.'s overly restrictive firearm registration requirements and ban on commonly owned rifles;

Jackson v. City of San Francisco, challenging that city's gun storage and ammunition regulations;

Jane Doe v. Wilmington Housing Authority, challenging prohibitions on firearms ownership in Delaware public housing;

Jennings v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, challenging the federal law that prohibits law-abiding adults between the ages of 18-20 from buying handguns from licensed dealers;

NRA v. McCraw, challenging Texas' law that bans issuance of handgun carry permits to 18-20 year old adults; and

Peruta v. City of San Diego, challenging that city's refusal to issue handgun carry permits to law-abiding applicants.

[Yellowfin]

It's in a different district so it makes for a one-two punch. Rather brilliant, actually.

[tsafa]

It's in a different district so it makes for a one-two punch. Rather brilliant, actually.

Go SAF! Go NRA!

At these point I think anti-gun-a-holes are completely having the rug pulled out from under them. They keep preparing themselves for an attack from the NRA and are being blind sided by the SAF. Very effective and I don't think they are even coordinating... just the way it is working out. We could probably use a few more pro-gun organizations pecking away at the rotting flesh of Chicago bureaucrats, Bloomberg and Soros.


The word "bear" as is found in the 2nd Amendment predates the English language and has been traced back through Germanic dialects and further to through tribal dialects to neolithic times. It is one of the oldest words in human speech. It took a linguistics course that happened to cover this. It is amazing on how they are actually able to piece together dead languages that have not been spoken for thousands of years.

In neolithic times "bear" refers specifically to a mother carrying child. It has maintained its meaning of what you carry on your person through the centuries. The Right to Bear Arms specifically means "carry" as we use the phrase "carry" today relative to arms.