Illinois ban on concealed carry on public transit is unconstitutional, federal judge rules
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A federal judge ruled the Illinois law banning people with concealed carry permits from taking guns on public transportation is in violation of the Second Amendment.
Four people filed a federal lawsuit in 2022 because they couldn't take a concealed firearm on the CTA or Metra. They claimed it violated their right to self-defense, and as a result they didn't use public transportation as much as they would have liked.
In a ruling on Friday, U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston ruled that Illinois' ban on carrying concealed weapons on public transit does not meet the U.S. Supreme Court standard set out in its June 2022 ruling in the case known as New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
In the Bruen case, the Supreme Court struck down a New York law that placed strict restrictions on carrying concealed firearms in public for self defense, finding its requirement that applicants seeking a concealed carry license demonstrate a special need for self-defense is unconstitutional.
Under the Supreme Court's new standard for determining whether gun laws are within constitutional bounds, the government is required to show that the measure is consistent with the nation's historical tradition of gun regulation.
In the lawsuit filed over Illinois' ban on carrying concealed weapons on public transportation, Johnston ruled the defendants, including Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, "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."
Johnston's ruling applies only to the four named plaintiffs in the case, so does not immediately strike down the ban on carrying concealed weapons on public transit in Illinois, but could lay the groundwork for an injunction blocking enforcement of the law statewide.
Raoul's office has not yet said if the state will appeal Johnston's ruling, but his office has argued the law is necessary to protect public safety.
Gov. JB Pritzker expressed disappointment with the ruling, but said he's hopeful the law barring concealed weapons from public transit ultimately will be upheld.
"Unfortunately, many of the conservative judges who've been appointed have misunderstood what it means to uphold public safety. And you know, we still believe in the Second Amendment. It's part of the Constitution that you have rights as a result of the Second Amendment, but there are limitations to that. I mean, just to give one example, the right to bear arms, it's not the right to a shoulder-fired missile, as one example," Pritzker said. "Would we allow people to carry an AR-15 into the White House? No. So it's clear that there are some misguided decisions that get made at the circuit court level, the federal court level."
Johnston's ruling came just days before four people were found shot to death on a CTA Blue Line train in Forest Park. Police have said it appears the victims were sleeping when they were shot, and that the shooter did not try to rob them. The suspected shooter, 30-year-old Rhanni Davis, of Chicago, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
