AG Madigan wants new hearing on conceal carry

January 8, 2012 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision that a state law banning people from carrying ready-to-use firearms in public is unconstitutional.

Madigan filed a petition for a rehearing of the conceal carry case. In December, a three-panel judge ruled an Illinois law that makes carrying ready-to-use firearms in public is unconstitutional. Two other federal district courts in Illinois had upheld the ban on conceal carry.

Opponents of the law, including the Illinois State Rifle Association, believe it violates the Second Amendment rights.

In its December decision, the court set a 180-day deadline for Illinois legislature to draft and enact a new conceal carry law and Madigan's petition does not affect that deadline.

In a statement, Madigan wrote, "In ruling that Illinois must allow individuals to carry ready-to-use firearms in public, the 7th Circuit Court's decision goes beyond what the U.S. Supreme Court has held and conflicts with decisions by two other federal appellate courts. Based on those decisions, it is appropriate to ask the full 7th Circuit to review this case and consider adopting an approach that is consistent with the other appellate courts that have addressed these issues after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Heller and McDonald decisions."

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