How Will Concealed Carry Affect 'Stand Your Ground'?
From the Chicago Tribune
In the aftermath of George Zimmerman's acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Gov. Pat Quinn appeared on national television and declared that Illinois doesn't have a "stand your ground" law like Florida and "we don't want it."
The Democratic governor was right in one sense and wrong in another. The words "stand your ground" don't appear in Illinois law. They do, however, appear in case law in effect for more than a century. If someone comes up to you on the street unprovoked and you're in real danger of losing your life, Illinois courts have ruled that it's OK to defend yourself and even take the life of your attacker.
Now "stand your ground" is colliding with "concealed carry" in Illinois. Next year, people who get a permit will be able to legally carry a concealed firearm in public. The combination of self-defense rulings and the new gun law has state lawmakers pondering the potential ramifications, even if they're not yet sure what action they might take.
"Will that come up in the legislative session? Absolutely," said state Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat who negotiated the state's new compromise law on concealed carry on behalf of gun-rights advocates. "With Trayvon Martin, there's no doubt about it."
State Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat who negotiated the concealed carry law representing the side of gun-control supporters, said the state's self-defense law is "worthy of examination."
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
In the aftermath of George Zimmerman's acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Gov. Pat Quinn appeared on national television and declared that Illinois doesn't have a "stand your ground" law like Florida and "we don't want it."
The Democratic governor was right in one sense and wrong in another. The words "stand your ground" don't appear in Illinois law. They do, however, appear in case law in effect for more than a century. If someone comes up to you on the street unprovoked and you're in real danger of losing your life, Illinois courts have ruled that it's OK to defend yourself and even take the life of your attacker.
Now "stand your ground" is colliding with "concealed carry" in Illinois. Next year, people who get a permit will be able to legally carry a concealed firearm in public. The combination of self-defense rulings and the new gun law has state lawmakers pondering the potential ramifications, even if they're not yet sure what action they might take.
"Will that come up in the legislative session? Absolutely," said state Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat who negotiated the state's new compromise law on concealed carry on behalf of gun-rights advocates. "With Trayvon Martin, there's no doubt about it."
State Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat who negotiated the concealed carry law representing the side of gun-control supporters, said the state's self-defense law is "worthy of examination."
Read more in our daily News Update...