Illinois Concealed Carry Bill Shot Down
By Sean Stillmaker in News on May 7, 2011 4:00PM
The Illinois legislature decided not to allow qualified and registered gun owners to carry concealed weapons, even though 48 other states have some sort of law allowing concealed carry on the books, and Wisconsin is moving forward with their own.
The Illinois concealed carry law would allow registered gun owners over 21 years old who have completed eight hours of training, a background check and mental health review to carry their firearms in public, excluding schools and college campuses.
Thursday's 65-32-1 vote fell just short of the 71 votes needed to move forward. However, Gov. Pat Quinn has stated he will veto any concealed carry law if it ends up on his desk. Illinois and Wisconsin are the only two states without a concealed carry law.
After the Illinois legislature failed to get with the program, Wisconsin stepped in and is quickly moving forward with theirs. The Republican-controlled legislature is expected to easily pass the bill, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Wisconsin's bills are quite lax compared to the Illinois one. They have two bills rolling around and will decide on May 12 which one to proceed with. Neither bill mandates training hours to be completed. One bill does not require permits to be obtained, while the other one does, but almost anyone 21 years or older will be able to get them.