BREAKING: Illinois General Assembly Votes to Override Governor’s Veto of Concealed Carry Bill

By Cheyenne Spiegel / 9 July 2013

he Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Illinois House and Senate have voted to overrule an amendment from Governor Pat Quinn that would have severely restricted concealed carry permits. First the House voted 77-31 to override the veto and further paving the way for implementing a method of concealed carry in Illinois. The Senate voted later in the afternoon and overrode Governor Quinn’s rewrite.

The Illinois governor had tried to lobby for the passage of his significantly more restrictive version of the bill—citing a weekend of extreme gun violence in the city of Chicago where over 70 people were shot over the holiday weekend.

Illinois is working on a court ordered deadline today (previously set for early June) to implement concealed carry. Up until a recent court order Illinois was the only state to not have some form of concealed carry. Earlier this year a federal court found that Illinois’s complete ban on carry outside of the home was a violation of the Constitution.

According to the Chicago Tribune, residents will still have to wait a while longer until the system is implemented:

If the full General Assembly overrides Quinn’s rewrite, gun owners will not be able to carry a concealed firearm without a valid concealed carry license issued by the Illinois State Police — a process that state police would have 180 days to develop. Possessing a valid Firearms Owner Identification Card, or FOID card, is not sufficient on its own to carry a concealed firearm, state police say.

The cost for the new concealed carry license would be $150 for five years for Illinois residents, under the legislation. Applicants also would have to complete 16 hours of firearms training, including classroom and range instruction, to qualify. The legislation gives the state police 60 days to license firearm instructors and training courses, which the agency said it will place on its website, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The bill isn’t perfect, admittedly. There are numerous issues such as expensive and time consuming training requirements, off limits locations, and a stripped down version of state preemption which was present in earlier versions of the bill. But at least it’s a start for Illinois citizens who cannot carry outside their homes and will finally be able to when Governor Quinn’s amendment falters.