Federal court strikes down Illinois concealed carry ban

In a big victory for U.S. gun rights advocates, a federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a ban on carrying concealed weapons in Illinois — the only American state where it had remained entirely illegal.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said state lawmakers have 180 days to write a new law that legalizesconcealed carry.

Gun rights advocates long have argued that the prohibition against concealed weapons violates the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment and what they see as Americans' right to carry guns for self-defense. The court majority on Monday agreed, reversing lower court rulings against a lawsuit that had challenged the state law.

"The Supreme Court has decided that the amendment confers a right to bear arms for self-defense, which is as important outside the home as inside," Judge Richard Posner wrote in the court's majority opinion. "The theoretical and empirical evidence (which overall is inconclusive) is consistent with concluding that a right tocarry firearms in public may promote self-defense."

He continued: "Illinois had to provide us with more than merely a rational basis for believing that its uniquely sweeping ban is justified by an increase in public safety. It has failed to meet this burden."

The court ordered its ruling stayed "to allow the Illinois legislature to craft a new gun law that will impose reasonable limitations, consistent with the public safety and the Second Amendment as interpreted in this opinion, on the carrying of guns in public," Posner said.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office, which is responsible for defending the state's laws, said it was reviewing the ruling and would comment later Tuesday.

Also studying the opinion were aides to Gov. Pat Quinn, who favors strict gun control laws and proposed an assault weapons ban earlier this year that lawmakers defeated. Quinn has vowed to again bring legislation that would prohibit the sale or possession of semi-automatic rifles and other guns.

The leader of the Illinois State Rifle Association, Richard Pearson, praised the federal court's decision and said the state could have a new concealed carry law by early next month.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by former corrections officer Michael Moore of Champaign, farmer Charles Hooks of Percy in southeastern Illinois and the Bellevue, Washington-based Second Amendment Foundation.