ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A federal judge has ruled that Illinois’ ban forbidding concealed carry owners to carry guns on public transportation is unconstitutional.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston ruled in favor of four plaintiffs who brought a 2022 lawsuit, arguing that a portion of the state’s concealed carry law, prohibiting holders of concealed carry licenses to bring guns on public buses or trains violated their Second Amendment rights.
Illinois’ 2013 concealed carry law limited license holders from carrying weapons into certain places, such as government buildings, stadiums, hospitals, or public transportation.
In his ruling, Johnston said the defendants, including Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, and DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, “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.”