In 2011, the State of Illinois’ laws prohibited private citizens from carrying loaded, operable firearms for the purposes of self-defense. The Second Amendment Foundation, joined by individual plaintiffs, and Illinois Carry, filed suit, seeking injunctive relief barring the Defendants from enforcing the laws at issue and a declaration from the court that the laws were unconstitutional.
The District Court dismissed the complaint, finding that there was “individuals do not have a Second Amendment right to bear arms outside of the home” and therefore the challenged laws “which only regulate firearm possession outside of the home—do not infringe on Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights.”
On appeal, a three judge panel of the 7th Circuit reversed the District Court, holding that the Supreme Court’s decisions in Heller and McDonald compelled them to find that the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry outside of the home and declined to engage in “another round of historical analysis to determine whether eighteenth-century America understood the Second Amendment to include a right to bear guns outside the home.” This important win was the primary driver behind Illinois subsequently passing new legislation enacting a shall-issue carry permit regime in 2013 and the elimination of a flat ban on armed self-defense outside the home.
Case Team: David Sigale, David Jensen
Case Documents
To access all of the case documents at the Court of Appeals, please visit the docket.
To access all of the case documents at the District Court, please visit the docket.
Case Media