Is Open Carry Right for Illinois?

[44Brent]

It may be surprising to some people that 33 states allow open carry with or without a license. While the majority of these states, such as Wisconsin, Missouri, and Kentucky allow open carry with no license required, other states such as Iowa and Indiana issue licenses that do not distinguish between concealed and open carry.

 

Manufacturers have gone to great extremes to design devices that can successfully conceal a handgun. However, in my own experience I have found it difficult and uncomfortable trying to conceal a full size handgun such as a .45 caliber 1911. In addition, a handgun in a side holster is much more easily and quickly retrieved in a critical moment when it is needed the most.  

 

I recently decided to try open carry while on vacation this summer in several Midwestern and Western states. I checked www.packing.org and Traveler's Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States to determine which states on my itinerary allowed open carry. According to those two sources, South Dakota and Wyoming allow open carry with no license required. Minnesota allowed me to carry openly with my Utah license. In all three states I openly carried a Springfield 5" tactical XD 40 pistol in a Don Hume holster with a thumb-break snap. I carried in travel information centers, rest stops, gas stations, motels, grocery stores, retail stores, and a bank. Although I was somewhat apprehensive in the beginning that I would start a stampede of panicked people, I discovered that most people didn't seem to care, or even notice that I was carrying a gun in a side holster. Other than one instance in which a woman asked if I was a law enforcement officer, no one complained.

 

HB2821 and SB3132 are identical bills in the Illinois legislature that would establish statewide uniform standards for the issuance of permits to carry concealed firearms. These bills make no provision for open carry, and are currently assigned to the rules committee. However, it is likely that they will be introduced again in the next legislative session. Since this is the only bill currently introduced into the Illinois legislature that establishes a right-to-carry, an amendment to this bill is the best means of decriminalizing open carry.

 

Contact information for the sponsors of these bills.

 

Representative Art Tenhouse (Deputy Republican Leader): 217-782-8096

Representative Mike Bost (Assistant Republican Leader): 217-782-0387

Senator John O. Jones: 217-782-0471

Todd Vandermyde (NRA lobbyist): TVandermyd@aol.com

[Don Gwinn]

I probably won't be contacting anyone to lobby for an open-carry provision. Frankly, the CCW is unlikely enough without adding more to the demand plate.

Then again, if you were close, maybe it would be better to have more demands.

 

 

I carried openly in Springfield, MO and the surrounding area four years ago, long before CCW. No one ever gave me a second glance, all the more remarkable to me because I don't think I looked the part of a police officer. Buying gas made me a bit nervous, but apparently I was the only one.

 

Frankly, though, I would be a lot more comfortable carrying concealed. I view open carry as something you do when you can't legally conceal your firearm. I wish Illinois had an open carry provision, because I'd like to use it to pressure the legislature into CCW the way Ohio did (though there's no guarantee in that.) Since we have a mountain to climb to get either one, I figure there's no reason not to go for the big prize.

[44Brent]

Don:

 

Look what I just found in the CCRA model bill: http://www.gunssavelife.com/GSLife/activities/SFA.htm

 

( Such permits shall be valid throughout the state for a period of 5 years from the date of issuance. Any person in compliance with the terms of such permit may carry a firearm, openly or concealed.

 

Suppose that a legislator could be found to sponsor this. Would you lobby to have the provision for open-carry removed from the bill? Or, would you force the "other" side (anti-rights crowd) to expend resources removing the provision?

[tom M]

As one of the 5 who wrote the CCW bill for CCRA I can explain the provision for"open Carry" Brent44 saw in the text of the bill. The verbage is due to our wonderful atty. noting that in a hostile county of IL (Dalyville) CCw permit holders could be hasled if a jacket inadvertanly fell open, allowing a concealed weapon to become visable. This small clause in the proposal would make such a small indescression of a CCW permit holder, a non-issue to LEO, and protect the permit holder from 'disturbing the peace' type of harasment.--- TOM M

[Big Gay Al]

As one of the 5 who wrote the CCW bill for CCRA I can explain the provision for"open Carry"  Brent44 saw in the text of the bill.  The verbage is due to our wonderful atty. noting that in a hostile county of IL (Dalyville) CCw permit holders could be hasled if a jacket inadvertanly fell open, allowing a concealed weapon to become visable.  This small clause in the proposal would make such a small indescression of a CCW permit holder, a non-issue to LEO, and protect the permit holder from 'disturbing the peace'  type of harasment.--- TOM M

This is an excellent idea. The reason I say that, Texas CHL law says that if your weapon SHOULD happen to be seen by someone else, you could be in deep doo-doo.

 

I feel for all of you. I lived in Illinois until 2/01 when I moved to Michigan. It took me a while to get my CCW here, but that was for financial as well as just plain timing issues.

 

At least we have open carry here, as it is not outlawed, it is allowed. But if you get into a car with your openly carried gun, you then need a permit.

 

Make sure that whatever you do, a pre-emption law is part of the CCW package, other wise you'll have counties and cities making their own regulations with regard to CCW.

[Don Gwinn]

No, of course I wouldn't oppose open carry, especially as part of a CCW bill. Let the antis do that.

 

At most, I might be willing to jettison it if it looked like such a move would put concealed carry over the top, as it could always be revisited later under the logic cited by Tom after people had gotten somewhat inured to concealed carry. That's not likely to be my call anyway, though.

 

That wasn't the choice I thought was being presented in the first post. I thought it was being suggested that people should be fighting for open carry itself. I just don't see the logic in that. We're going to have to fight about equally hard for either one, but CCW gets us a lot closer to open carry than the other way around.

[S.B]

By all means. I'm for the CCW in Illinois. I've never heard of any state enacting such a law and the crime rate not dropping dramastically over night! Why would any sane person not want such a provision?

[Big Gay Al]

By all means. I'm for the CCW in Illinois. I've never heard of any state enacting such a law and the crime rate not dropping dramastically over night! Why would any sane person not want such a provision?

That's just it. It's not the "sane people" who DON'T want CCW for Illinois. It's the INSANE and the power hungry people.

 

The Power hungry (Read Daly and friends) know that with CCW, it's the beginning of the end for them. How can you control the populace when they can defend themselves, and don't have to rely on the police? Answer, you can't.

 

Let's hope the people get there way on this one, soon!!!