SPRINGFIELD \u2014 Gun rights supporters Monday appealed a federal judge\u2019s decision to keep intact Illinois\u2019 ban on carrying loaded guns in public. <\/p>\n
In documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, attorneys for the Second Amendment Foundation asked for a review of Judge Sue Myerscough\u2019s ruling, in which she dismissed the organization\u2019s challenge of the state\u2019s one-of-a-kind ban on carrying concealed weapons. <\/p>\n
In a 48-page decision issued Friday, Myerscough said the state\u2019s law barring citizens from legally carrying concealed firearms doesn\u2019t violate the U.S. Constitution because the Supreme Court has recognized the right to bear arms only within a home, not outside. <\/p>\n
\u201cPlaintiffs argue that the Second Amendment protects a general right to carry guns that includes a right to carry operable guns in public,\u201d Myerscough wrote. \u201cHowever, neither the United States Supreme Court nor any United States Court of Appeals has recognized such a right. <\/p>\n
\u201cFurther, the Supreme Court has not recognized a right to bear firearms outside the home and has cautioned courts not to expand on its limited holding.\u201d <\/p>\n
Alan Gottlieb, executive vice president of the Bellevue, Wash.-based Second Amendment Foundation, said his group will take its fight to the nation\u2019s high court in hopes of clarifying the law. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Second Amendment does not say the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed except outside your home or that it only applies inside your house. We don\u2019t check our constitutional rights at the front door,\u201d Gottlieb said in a release. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re disappointed with the decision, and we are appealing,\u201d said attorney David Jensen, who represented Michael Moore of Champaign in the case. <\/p>\n
The Illinois Attorney General\u2019s office, which represented the state in the case, did not immediately return messages. <\/p>\n
Moore and others want state lawmakers or a court to bring the state in line with the rest of the nation when it comes to carrying weapons. His lawsuit is among at least two cases winding through the federal legal system. <\/p>\n
Last year, a concealed carry proposal fell six votes short of moving out of the Illinois House. Supporters say they may ask for another vote on the issue this spring. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
See original here: SPRINGFIELD \u2014 Gun rights supporters Monday appealed a federal judge\u2019s decision to keep intact Illinois\u2019 ban on carrying loaded guns in public. In documents filed Monday in U.S. Continue reading
\nJudge squelches bid to overturn Illinois gun law<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"