CHICAGO, IL — A federal appellate court has upheld Illinois’ prohibition on carrying concealed firearms on public transit systems, reversing a lower court ruling that had declared the restriction unconstitutional.
The case stems from Illinois’ 2013 Firearm Concealed Carry Act, which allows licensed citizens to carry concealed handguns in most public places but specifically bans them on buses, trains, and properties controlled by public transit facilities. Four concealed carry permit holders challenged the law in 2022, arguing that it left them defenseless when using Chicago Transit Authority and Metra systems.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that Illinois had failed to demonstrate a historical precedent from the Founding era to justify banning firearms on mass transit. He cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, which requires firearm restrictions to align with the nation’s history and tradition of regulation.
However, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. In its decision released Tuesday, the court said that while the Second Amendment protects the right to self-defense, it does not prohibit laws that restrict firearms in “sensitive and crowded, confined places.” The ruling reinstates the state ban, keeping public transportation a prohibited area for lawful concealed carriers.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with several state’s attorneys, defended the ban, claiming it was necessary for public safety. Governor J.B. Pritzker previously stated that firearm restrictions in certain areas are essential to prevent potential risks in crowded settings.
For concealed carry permit holders, this ruling underscores an ongoing dilemma: they may legally carry on a sidewalk, through a parking lot, or even at a bus stop, but stepping onto a publicly funded bus or train immediately makes them lawbreakers. The inconsistency raises questions about whether such restrictions actually enhance safety or simply leave law-abiding citizens unprotected during their daily commutes.
The right to carry is centered on self-defense. Public transit riders often travel at odd hours and in areas with higher crime rates. If lawful carriers can be trusted to responsibly carry everywhere else in public, there is little logic in stripping them of that right the moment they board a train or bus. Restrictions like these ultimately create zones where only criminals, who ignore laws, remain armed, while responsible citizens are forced to be defenseless.
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