CHICAGO, March 9 (UPI) -- Supporters of concealed-carry laws say Illinois residents have about a 50-50 chance of joining Minnesota, Ohio and Missouri in winning the right to carry hidden handguns.
Two bills that won approval in a House committee Tuesday would bar the City of Chicago from enforcing its ordinance prohibiting carrying a concealed weapon if state legislation is approved.
The National Rifle Association and state groups are aggressively carrying the fight to Mayor Richard M. Daley, a staunch gun-control advocate.
Daley has vowed not to give up the battle for passage of gun-control measures that would limit the number of handguns people can legally purchase and establish a system to license gun dealers. Both measures failed to get out of committee in the state Senate last month, although a House panel approved legislation that would require the state's 3,000 gun dealers to purchase a three-year license.
"We should be able to pass some commonsense gun laws," Daley said. Daley contended more guns mean more gun violence in Chicago, but supporters of concealed-carry say the criminals are already armed while average citizens are less safe.
Positions on gun control often are determined more by geography than partisan politics. Chicago and many of its affluent suburbs ban handgun ownership, but only a valid Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Card is required to buy guns in rural regions of the state.
Chicago police Wednesday seized an arsenal of five handguns, nine rifles, two semi-automatic pistols and ammunition at a South Side home frequented by street gang members. One person was arrested.
The measures headed for House debate are similar.
Illinois State Police would be in charge of issuing handgun permits under one of the bills approved by the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee. County sheriffs would have responsibility for issuing concealed-carry permits under the other measure.
A third bill would close a loophole that allows average citizens to buy firearms at gun shows without a background check but would force the state to destroy the sales records after 90 days. A fourth gun measure would keep municipalities outside Chicago from regulating rifles, shotguns and ammunition for those weapons.
A spokesman for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich told the Chicago Tribune the concealed-carry measures face a veto if they pass in the Legislature. More than 30,000 firearms-related deaths were reported in 2002, including about 12,000 homicides, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than two-thirds of people in the United States live in right-to-carry states.
Forty-six states and the District of Columbia have some form of concealed-carry, and their laws vary widely. Many states have reciprocity agreements. How have Midwest states fared?
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a concealed-carry measure last year that would have lifted a 130-year-old state prohibition on concealed-carry so retired law enforcement officers could carry firearms.
County sheriffs in Ohio approved 45,497 concealed-carry permits since the state's concealed-carry law went into effect April 8, 2004, far short of the 100,000 permits the state's attorney general predicted would be issued in the first six months the law was in effect.
A report released by the attorney general's office found 78 concealed-carry license holders had permits suspended, 42 permits were revoked and 428 applications had been denied.
Applicants cannot have a history of mental illness, felony convictions or convictions for several misdemeanors including assault on a law-enforcement officer.
A Republican state representative from Cincinnati says the names of people issued concealed-carry licenses should be private and not be open to journalists or the general public. One lawmaker said the public-disclosure provision had discouraged some citizens from exercising their constitutional right to carry weapons.
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft threatened to veto the concealed-carry bill last year if it did not grant access to the names of permit holders and his position has not changed.
The Missouri Highway Patrol received 15,442 background-check applications for concealed-carry permits in the first year concealed-carry was legal everywhere in the state outside St. Louis.
Concealed-carry advocates predicted 60,000 people would apply in the first year.
All applicants 23 and older must pass an approved firearms training course, but because names of permit holders are not public record, gun-control advocates say no one can determine if law-abiding, concealed-carry gun holders are reducing crime or engaging in criminal activity.
Many establishments put up "no guns" signs after Minnesota's Personal Protection Act went into effect in June 2003. Violating such signs carries a $25 fine.
More than 22,000 Minnesota residents 19 or older with no criminal record or history of drug or alcohol abuse received concealed-carry permits after passing a firearms skills course. A Ramsey County judge ruled the concealed-carry law unconstitutional in July in a lawsuit brought by churches and other groups.
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