pocket guns in IL

[aresaypee]

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I've been wanting a gun for a long time because I don't want to depend on law enforcement to protect me in case my life is threatened-I'll be dead before they arrive.

I plan on carrying a mousegun in my pocket at all times inside a nice pocket holster that looks like a wallet. However, with current Illinoislaws it's illegal to carry a weapon in a schoolas well as when you're driving.

My question is: what's the point in obeying these un-enforceable laws? Noone knows you're carrying except you and those you tell (I plan on telling noone, not even my family). I've never been stopped by a cop, let alone pat down by a cop.

Are people paranoid that if they get stopped and the officer asks if they have a gun then they will go to prison?


The idea of only cops and criminals being allowed to carry anywhere is not acceptable to me. The only places I can understand disarming are where armed guards are stationed (court houses, etc).

 

[John Pierce]

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You really need to think about what you are proposing. Regardless of our belief in the unconstitutionality of Illinois gun laws, they DO exist and they ARE enforced!

I appreciate the fact that you are concerned about being stripped of your rights and are willing to take the chance of being arrested and convicted, but consider what a felony conviction would do to your life and future.

As another poster suggested ... why not move across the border to Indiana or to any of the pro-gun states??? A move is a big deal, but nowhere near as big a deal as an arrest.

We need all the right thinking people we can get to hold the line in the pro-gun states. Don't throw yourself away by becoming a criminal because of the bad laws in Illinois.

Just my thoughts.


John

 

[aresaypee]

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you guys are right

http://www.concealcarry.org/pritchetttrial.htm

****

I need to get out of Illinois!!

 

[openryan]

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You may have never been patted down by a cop or stopped by a police officer, but if a situation presents itself, could be a sobriety check point, a leo who wants to give you a hard time, whatever, you could be searched without reasonable cause, it happens all the time, and it would be hard to fight an unlawful search if it produced a gun from your person.



You can always move to a farm in Illinois!



I agree -- it sucks

 

[badmonkey]

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Get out of that communist state!

Come south, plenty of room down here!

 

[vmaxanarchist]

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Currently the only way to legally carry in incorporated limits of any municipality in Illinois is only for someone in possession of a FOID card unloaded and in a case or other container. The casemust be carried outside of your clothing and fully enclose the firearm. Ammunition like a loaded magazine or speed loader can be carried in the case or anywhere else. If you areanywhere there might be wildlife the case should be designed for the purpose of carrying a firearm to avoid getting charged with wildlife code violations. Many people have carried with a fanny pack designed for carrying concealed. Any other case straped to your body or carried in hand would probably be ok too.


However people have been arrested and prosecuted by police and prosecutors who don't like this practice. Currently there is a case in court where the only real point of contention is whether a tactical thigh holster modified to fully cover the firearm is a case or other container or if it was open carrying.

Also, you have to research all local and county laws because there is no preemption in IL.

The problem with your pocket gun in a wallet is even if it was unloaded it could still be considered concealed inside your clothing if it was in your pocket.

 

[junglebob]

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Concealed carry of a loaded firearm is a felony in Illinois. Since you are in Illinois why not go to Illinoiscarry.com or Icarry.org and join in the fight to get concealed carry legislation in Illinois. Icarry.org has information on "fanny pack carry" in Illinois, which is carrying an unloaded handgun in a case with a loaded magazine not in the firearm, no round in chamber. The Illinois State Patrol website (isp.state.il.us/foid/firearmsfaq.cfm)even mentions the legality of having a loaded magazine in a case with the firearm. You must be a FOID card holder, so this doesn't apply to non-residents.

The fanny pack carry option is of course not nearly as good as open carry or normal concealed carry of a loaded firearm. Unfortunately it is the only legal option regular Illinois citizens have. It could keep you from a felony conviction, which would cause you to lose your firearms. The posting on the ISP website is something new this month, previous to this an instructor at one of the ISP training sites in Illinois said that ammunition could not be in the case, state law said it could, now he admits he was wrong. This means you could bestopped by a state trooper that says "I went thru the academy 10 years ago and they told me the law". No one I know has been convicted in Illinois of this type of carry thatI know of, several have gone to court and won. Beware of any local ordinances on firearms that may be more restrictive than state law.

I'll agree Illinois has some very restrictive firearms laws, but then we have Chicago. If Chicago suddenly became its own state we'd probably have concealed carry legislation that year and maybe opencarry somethime after that. For those that are sceptical, I live in Southern Illinois and an adjoing county has the village of Goreville. In the 1980's when Morton Grove, a Chicago suburb, passed a handgun ban they passed an ordinance requiring every household to have a firearm.

I noticed that on the carry map Illinois is a rural open carry state, I'd be interested in hearing about people who have done it. May try it myself.

I'm not a lawyer, and you might still get arrested if you "fanny pack" but I still think its a good alternative. I've been doing it myself for about 3 years now. A leather holster probably is not going to quality as a case, especially if the firearm isn't completely enclosed. If its modified there may be a problem as well, a case is currently in court involving a modified holster.