Important New Changes For Illinois Concealed Carry!

What you need to know if you carry in Illinois.  The “trailer bill” that was intended to fix some things in the Firearm Concealed Carry Act has passed both houses n Springfield and has been signed into law by the governor.

Here are the changes:

1) You no longer have to unload your gun if you want to put it in the trunk of your vehicle in a Prohibited Parking Area.  Just remember, you must go directly to your trunk to store your gun if it is a Prohibited Parking Area – you still cannot walk around. Also remember that not all “Prohibited Areas” include the parking areas, but when the parking area is included, you don’t have to unload before going to  your trunk.

2) You no longer have to carry your FOID card with you if you have your License to Carry.  You can use your License to Carry to purchase ammunition as well, so your wallet can be thinner!

3) If you are stopped by a law enforcement official, you can simply hand your License to Carry, which satisfies the requirement that you inform them if asked.  This is a rather obscure change, as you are still not required to inform an office that you are carrying unless you are asked.  But for some reason, it seemed necessary to spell out the fact that merely handing your License is just as good as saying the words “I am carrying.” There is some lawyer somewhere that thinks this was a necessary clarification.

4) Non-residents who attend shooting events at the World Shooting Complex can now obtain firearms and ammunition without a FOID card.

5) Developmentally disabled persons now have an extra measure of protection before being stripped of their FOID cards in the form of an appeals process.

6) You “may” be required to submit a notarized statement if you change your name or address, instead of “shall” be required.

7) The privacy waiver included in your application has been limited. This protects our personal information and the extent to which the background check can be used.

8) Emergency services personnel can now legally secure your firearm if necessary (a lot of paramedics were concerned about this).

 

Shooting Qualification – How to Get an Illinois Concealed Carry Permit (Illinois License to Carry)

The second 8-hour class for an Illinois concealed carry permit (actually called an Illinois License to Carry) includes a lengthy training on all the applicable laws for concealed carry, but also includes a shooting qualification. Many people have asked, a bit nervous, how hard this shooting qualification is.

First of all, the target used is an NRA B27, which is a man-sized silhouette target. The target is two feet wide and four feet tall, so it is the size of a man.

The qualification requires that you fire 30 rounds at three different distances. Ten rounds each are fired at 5 yards, 7 yards and 10 yards. Out of the 30 rounds, you must achieve 70% accuracy, which means 21 rounds must hit the black portion of the target.

Since the shooting is not timed, and you can use whatever “concealable firearm” you are comfortable with, the shooting qualification is not difficult.

The only two ways that you can fail this class and / or the shooting qualification is if you are a horrible shot or do not demonstrate safe gun handling practices, in the opinion of the instructor.

Illinois Concealed Carry Bill Passes with a Strong Majority

The July 8th deadline imposed by the 7th Circuit Court is fast approaching. The Illinois Concealed Carry bill that the legislature passed with strong majorities awaits the signature of Governor Quinn. We expect him to wait until the last day to sign it into law, begrudgingly.
Once the law is in place, the Illinois State Police will have 60 days to begin approving instructors and course curriculum for the 16 hour training requirement. The Illinois lobbyist for the NRA has said that there is a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Police to recognize NRA instructors and NRA courses to satisfy this requirement.

The law spells out that at least 8 hours of the 16 must be training on the new law, where you can and cannot carry, and a shooting qualification. This course curriculum is being created now by Pro-2nd Amendment experts and should be available for the Illinois State Police to certify well within the 60 day window.