According to State Sen. Darin LaHood, firearm owners should begin to feel a little easier as Illinois moves closer to some form of concealed-carry legislation after a federal court in Chicago rejected the Illinois Attorney General’s challenge to the 180-day mandate. The same court issued the December ruling to force the Illinois General Assembly to pass legislation enacting concealed-carry.
On the topic of firearms, LaHood objected to comments that were made by the Chicago Police Superintendent on a Sunday morning radio program. CPD boss Garry McCarthy alleged that firearm rights groups were corrupt and obstructing efforts to enforce public safety. "Superintendent McCarthy’s comments were inflammatory and simply wrong. He is already on record being anti-gun or anti-Second Amendment and now he attacks the citizens’ First Amendment rights to speech and petition government," said LaHood.
"In Illinois, 1.3 million people hold FOID cards and so McCarthy’s comments were a 'slap to the face,' of one-tenth to our population," added the state senator. "I believe that as gun owners, self-protection advocates and sportsmen, we are on the cusp of having Illinois in line with the other 49 states. It is too bad that is has taken action by the United States Supreme Court and lower courts to reaffirm an Illinoisan’s 2nd Amendment rights, but we are close to firearm equality."
