Mission statement:

Armed and Safe is a gun rights advocacy blog, with the mission of debunking the "logic" of the enemies of the Constitutionally guaranteed, fundamental human right of the individual to keep and bear arms.

I can be reached at 45superman@gmail.com.You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/45superman.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Illinois Supreme Court knows what a 'case' is--Illinois gun-haters get 'case' of indigestion

My Chicago Gun Rights Examiner colleague Don Gwinn wrote yesterday about the expectation that the Illinois Supreme Court would rule today on whether or not the center console of a car fits the definition of a "case," for the purpose of legally transporting an unloaded firearm.

Go read the article. I'll wait--it's not long.

OK--got the background now?

Good news: today, the Supreme Court ruled that the center console is indeed a "case," for purposes of this discussion.

Section 24-1.6(c)(iii) of the Criminal Code of 1961 provides that a person is not guilty of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon if that weapon is "unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm carrying box, shipping box, or other container by a person who has been issued a currently valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card." 720 ILCS 5/24-1.6(c)(iii)(West 2006). In the case at bar, we are asked to determine whether the center console of a vehicle is a "case" within the meaning of this provision. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that it is.
Not exactly a "knockout blow" for freedom in Illinois, but in this state, we madly celebrate the little victories.

It's certainly a significant victory for the defendant, Michael Diggins, who will now not be spending two-and-a-half years in prison, for carrying unloaded, fully enclosed firearms, while having a valid FOID card.

This would also seem to provide some clarity on the legality of "fanny pack carry" in Illinois.

Chicago GRE Don Gwinn now has much more.

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