Concealed Carry in Illinois

People for a Safer Society advocates for amendments to the concealed carry law so that it may become a safer and more responsible law for our Illinois communities.
Illinois did not always allow private citizens to carry concealed weapons. In fact, Illinois was the last state in the country to prohibit concealed carry. However, in December 2012, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the state to enact a law allowing the carrying of concealed weapons and gave state legislators 180 days to put together such a law. Now the legal concealed carry of firearms is a reality in Illinois.
​The Myth of the “Armed Civilian”
Many proponents of concealed carry maintain that if an armed civilian were faced by an attacker, the civilian would be able to protect against the attack. Recently, however, a Texas pro-­gun  group re-­enacted the Charlie Hebdo attack and found that the outcome would have been the same with ‘armed civilians.’ The truth is that armed civilians are not only unlikely to protect against an attack, but are also far more likely to get shot and killed than people who are unarmed. An analysis by Stanford researchers found evidence which suggests that right-­to-­carry laws may be associated with large increases in armed attacks, perhaps increasing such gun assaults by almost 33 percent.

This conclusion is corroborated by a 2009 study by the University of Pennsylvania which found that people with firearms were 4.46 times more likely to be shot than those who did not carry a gun. (1)

Sources (1): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2759797/

Fast Facts
  • According to the Illinois concealed carry law, people can carry loaded, concealed handguns in offices, shops, restaurants, and places of worship unless the property owner posts a sign prohibiting guns on the premises.
  • People who carry guns are far likelier to get shot and killed than those who are unarmed.
  • Right-­to-­carry gun laws are linked to an increase in violent crime.
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