Paints-n-cows FCCL

This day has been a long time coming. Illinois is the last state in the union to recognize the right of its citizens to keep and bear arms. And rather than face a judicial mandate that would have made the Land of Lincoln a no-permit, shall-issue 2A heaven, legislators instead conjured a permitting process that’s about as painful and tedious as possible. Even so, around 46,000 people have applied and been approved for a concealed carry permit so far. And now word comes that the first 5,000 concealed carry licenses have arrived in the mailboxes of applicants . . .

At 12:46 PM local time on Saturday, the first post of someone unwrapping his concealed carry license appeared on an Illinois-based forum. From what the local papers are reporting, the state police are cranking out the licenses as fast as they can and the first wave should be appearing Monday in mailboxes across the state. From the Sun Times:

Illinois’ first concealed carry licenses were being sent out Friday and could arrive in mailboxes as early as Monday, Illinois State Police officials said.

[…]

The blue-and-red licenses — about the same size as a driver’s license — are good for five years.

All approved applicants passed both criminal background and mental health checks, Maton said.

State police have so far rejected some 300 applications from people who are prohibited by statute from having one of the new cards, including, for example, people who have two or more DUIs or a domestic violence arrest within the last five years, Maton said. Another 2,800 applicants submitted either incomplete or inaccurate information, and officials are delaying approval until they can check out that information, Maton said.

If the gun control advocates are right, Illinois streets will be running red with blood any second now. Then again, since the former gun control utopia is home to some of the worst gang violence in the United States, if the war zone predictions come to pass, would they even notice?

No matter — every other state that has made this transition has had the wild west scaremongering pronouncements proven to be as fictional as the movies on which they were based. Illinois will be no different.

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89 COMMENTS

  1. AS it has happened in every other shall issue state crime will go down. It will take some time though. And because IL is in the media crosshairs there will be plenty of media folk dissecting each and every DGU. Be ready for the cries to repeal while the dust settles.

    • Yep, no matter how clean and justified the shoot the folks in charge are going to try to fry the ccw holder involved.

      • It all depends where. Central Illinois, where I grew up? Not so much. Cook County, where I live now? May God help the poor soul involved in a DGU.

        • I agree. Cops in Southern Illinois are mostly gun friendly, are hunters and many are avid gun fans.

          The crooks are in Chicago for the most part.

          BTW, 5000 have been MAILED but only some received so far on Sat. 3/1. My license should be here Monday!

      • I’m hoping the first CCW license holder who has to use their pistol in self-defense is a woman defending herself from rape or a beating. It would be even better if it was a black or Hispanic woman. Why? Because that would utterly destroy the script that Dart (Cook County Sheriff) and McCarthy (Chicago Police Superintendent) have written, that this is going to bring out the nuts. How do you vilify a woman who is defending herself from rape?

  2. Congrats to Illinois! Took long enough for them to get their constitutional RIGHTS. Come on America, get with the freaking program. And FUAC!

    • And now I understand why it has been so called this winter … Hell finally has frozen over!!!

      Congratulations Illinois residents!

      • Hell is just cooling down. The Cubs have not won the World Series. That would signify the total freezing over of Hell.

  3. Hurrah! Hurrah for a teeny tiny baby step in the right direction that I can’t take advantage of because of age discrimination on the government’s part. Yay.

      • It’s my only consolation. I fear that the right of 18 year olds to access the full extent of firearms will be one of the last battles fought in this war…and there are many battles before it. By which time I may not even care.

      • No exemption from the permit requirement, but if you’re active duty, retired or honorably discharged you get to skip the first half (eight hours) of training and the associated cost.

        So there’s something.

  4. I drink a toast for this victory. I know these times are tough for the AI, but this is the sweet fruit yeilding from the tree of liberty.

    • Remarkably, that happiness may have happened years ago at the DMV. When you apply for an Illinois FOID card, you have to submit a photo but they use your driver’s license photo anyway. My guess is the CCW permits will be produced the same way.

      • Actually I belive they use the photo you submit. Leave it to IL to make things that make little to know sense.

    • My application is No. 21,6XX and is still listed as “under review.” I even went the extra mile and did the fingerprint part to hurry it up. My biggest concern is that I have only lived in Illinois for 2 years, so the rest of my 10 year history is IN and SD, and don’t know how that will affect the application process.

      • Over on illinoiscarry, some people are said to have received permits while the website still shows ‘under review’.

        Hopefully your residency won’t cause any delays. figure all they’ll do is make a few phone calls and move on, assuming they even pay attention to that.

        • I’ve collected over the years CCW permits from FL, IN, AZ, UT, and SD. There are things about each state’s system that have their ups and downs.

          Honestly, I don’t mind the fingerprinting. I just wish that IL did what FL, UT, and AZ do and send that off to the FBI for a nation wide search. That would seem WAY easier than having to list 10 years worth of residences. I’ve moved 4 times in 10 years, so it was a PIA for me. I can’t imaging what the process would be for someone who is/was military and might have moved a dozen times.

        • Yeah, that 10 years’ of addresses is pretty annoying. I had to list nine addresses, not including the temporary residences while going to school. I feel like that might be grounds to challenge the law…what if you just can’t remember a previous address? What if you didn’t have one? Shouldn’t a state and federal background check be enough?

        • You have to list your residency for the past 10 years when you apply. They verify that information, and any LE agency in those locations is given the opportunity to object.

  9. Congratulations to everyone who fought for the Constitutional rights of the people of Illinois.

    And thanks to Judge Posner for reversing the insane, partisan and prejudiced opinions of two incompetent district court nitwits in the Moore and Shepard cases. It took guts to do that, especially since Posner is far from a 2A guy.

  10. I live in Texas, but I will MOST CERTAINLY drink in honor of this.
    Seriously, this is the kind of thing parties are thrown for.

  11. ###”And rather than face a judicial mandate that would have made the Land of Lincoln a no-permit, shall-issue 2A heaven…”####

    Small nitpick, but that’s not what would have happened had the UUW deadline expired. Each city over a certain popualtion until the enactment of the IL CCW ordnance had the authority to enforce standards stricter then state law.

    Which, practically speaking, meant Constitutional Carry in Effingham County, but a total ban in Dupage County. A permit issued in Marion IL would be worthless in Cook County.

    As nasty as the current CCW law is, leaving things be would be a bigger setback.

  12. “Illinois is the last state in the union to recognize the right of its citizens to keep and bear arms.”

    Given the state of things in Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, etc. I’m not sure I can agree with the above statement. The right of an ordinary citizen to bear arms in those states is effectively nonexistent.

    That said, much congrats to the folks in Illinois. This is progress, and that is good.

    • This. Just because they were the last to have a permit system does not mean they are the last state to remove their de facto ban on concealed carry. Until I can move to any state and get a permit, the fight is not over.

      • Agreed. If you take the country as a whole and liken it to a body, restricted states are like cancerous organs. Unless corrected the illness spreads.

  14. I feel your pain JeffR. I too live in Cook County,Illinois. Not in a big hurry to get cc.They’re NOT done screwing us. Still a big victory.

  15. I have a friend who is getting his CCW. We sat down and added up all the cost involved for a person seeking one. Add up the cost of the license, the cost of the training involved (16 hours), the cost of ammo, the charges for the application and other costs and you are in excess of $500.

    • Myself, and a lot of people, got credit for 8 hours of previous training.

      Military veterans, plus those who’ve taken NRA Basic Pistol/Personal Protection Inside the Home/Personal Protection Outside the Home get 8 hours. I can’t remember if you can stack 4 hour classes such as Hunter Safety, AZ/UT training, etc., to make 8 hours.

      My 2nd 8 hour class was $150 (I had Basic Pistol a few years ago) + $150 application fee + $60 for fingerprints + $23 for ammo for live fire qualification

      • Yes, of course, Marie, but that’s not the point.

        If you have no such previous classes or qualifications you are going to pay through the nose for the “right” to carry concealed in IL.

        Stinks.

    • In my case it was:

      $ 250 for a 2-day 16 hour class (Was actually pretty fun)
      $ 150 for the fee
      $ 10 for 30 rounds of .380 for qualification. (lots of dry-fire, with optional live-fire practice)
      ———-
      $ 410 total.

      I could barely work that into my budget, others can’t afford this at all.

      • “Without infringement” in IL means, “as long as you are able to spend at least $400-$500, not to mention the cost of the firearm.

        So, if you have around $800 or so laying around, sure, we’ll give you a license to do what the USA’s Constitution already says you can do.

        arggggghhhhhh

        • You’re not required by law to own a gun to get your CCW. So there’s that, at least. What pisses me off as much as anything else, even assuming I end up getting my license, is for the people that spend all this money before you’re even allowed to apply. There’s no refunds for denials. So you’re spending all that money and time to not exercise your right at all.
          I would be more on board with a process that went:
          1) $10 to submit application
          2) Get approved. Show approval to CCW trainer, take training.
          3) Send in training certificate with approval and fee, get license back.

          It sounds like a great test case to at least change, if not toss, a lot of this nonsense. How can you put someone through a process like this to be denied what is supposed to be a Right?

  18. I am stationed in The People’s Republic of Maryland. It’s (almost) just as easy to get a firearm in the District of Columbia. We are a “may issue” state. I feel like saying “Help me Obi Wan Kanobi you’re my only hope”. Some day, I too, hope to be free! Best wishes for Illinois, now please bring the fight down here!

    • Same here in NJ… Some recent tweets from our Senate President:

      “I will never support carrying a concealed weapon no matter how many ways you ask me.”

      “NJ doesn’t have concealed carry.”

      Delmarva Chip made the point above (that I initially was going to make) that the editors here and throughout the web/media need to stop with the “Illinois is the last state…” line. It’s 100% false. Just because all states may have a permitting system in place doesn’t mean they recognize the average citizen’s right to carry a firearm. It’s effectively in place only to allow retired LEO and politicians in NJ to exercise their rights.

        • Well, I’m only 20 miles from PA, so the area (as far as geography, local politics, etc.) is nice. We’re just infected with crap state legislators and laws designed for Trenton and Newark.

        • @Mark
          That means you’re only 20 minutes from one of the most lax shall issue states in America.

        • Yep, too bad I bought a house here before I really got into guns… working on an exit plan though.

  20. Here’s to an inkling of firearm freedom in Illinois (drinks generous helping of scotch). It’s about time. Hopefully CA gets a massive influx of CCW as well. Cheers.

  21. “State police have so far rejected some 300 applications from people who are prohibited by statute from having one of the new cards, including, for example, people who have two or more DUIs or a domestic violence arrest within the last five years, Maton said.”

    Wouldn’t be a b!tch to spend all that money and time on 16 hours of required classes plus the $150 (non-refundable) application fee, only to be rejected because of those two times you got drunk, beat up your wife and went for a drive? Gotta wonder what those 300 people were thinking.

    • Just an arrest? Not a conviction? So much for innocent until proven guilty…

      In IL, does the state automatically prosecute when they find evidence of DV, or does the victim have to press charges? If the former, then merely the arrest and no conviction is awful. If the latter, I can see a pinhole of justification, but still, no conviction means no conviction.

    • It sure is a bitch. In fact, I just checked my status online: Denied.
      For the record, I was arrested once, around 7 years ago, for domestic violence. Charges were dismissed, as it was a bogus arrest and the accuser never actually showed up or even so much as submitted a statement. I was also voluntarily admitted and released for depression/suicidal tendencies ten years ago. I saw a psychologist and took medication for a short while.
      My option now is to wait until I am notified by mail what “preponderance of evidence suggest that applicant is a danger to themselves, others, or society”, and then “the aggrieved party may petition the circuit court in writing in the county of his or her residence for a hearing upon the denial”. So what’re the chances that after being denied by a so-called impartial board I’ll get a license from Cook County? Probably zip.
      That also means that I dropped $225 on the class, $60 for fingerprinting, $150 for the application, 70 rounds of .380, and two days of my time on a denial. Total cost: about $475 and 24 hours including class, travel time, and application time.
      So much for a natural right.

      • Nigil,
        I wish you all the best in your struggle, however you decide to pursue it.

        I’m curious to know whether your ap. was rejected by the State Police or Chicago or Cook County agencies.

        • Appell it. You were not arrested 5 times or convicted and it was longer than 5 years ago.

        • The application requires your last ten years’ worth of addresses. Once that info is in the system, any of the local jurisdictions of police where you’ve lived are allowed to object, based on their own records. That information is sent to a Review Board. The board is the one that makes the final approve or deny after an objection.

          @ James Diaz:
          Yes, I plan to appeal. In order to do so I have to wait until I receive the official letter stating my denial and why, and what the appeals process is. Since they technically have up to 90 days to approve or deny my application, I will probably receive the letter in another month or so.

  25. Sun Times is incorrect. The applicant must have been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence within the last five years, not simply arrested.

  26. Can you feel the freedom in that smile? Congratulations. Just keep in mind you now live in a fish bowl, anti-prop wise, so stay squeaky clean. Very happy for all of you.

  27. Um…Nigel how did you get a FOID card? I’m NOT ragging on you but what made you think you could get CC liscense? It’s hard enough if you think you have a perfect record. Illinois still sucks.

    • I got a FOID because nothing about my record disqualifies me from having one. The mental facility stay prohibition on FOID’s is only good for 5 years; and my only arrest was just that, an arrest. I have never been convicted of any crime nor been recommended for extended therapy or admission to a mental ward.

      As far as the carry license goes, see above. Nothing on my record is listed as a reason for objection or denial in the law, and all those questions they ask you for which is best answer is always “no”, were all answered no. Given that local LE jurisdictions can object for any reason, so long as they articulate it, I expected to get challenged, which is why I submitted prints. I was hopeful, however, that the review board would make life simple.

  28. Whoa, not true:

    “Illinois is the last state in the union to recognize the right of its citizens to keep and bear arms.”

    The ‘justifiable need’ perversion and defacto ban of CCW in NJ is so sinister that NJ should absolutely be the next focus of the NRA and EVERY SINGLE ADVOCATE of 2ndA rights across this country… That you have to convince the state (or Fed someday? Eric Holder?) that you have a good reason to carry (or even own?) a gun should alarm everyone who values their Constitutional right(s).

  29. Why do people always say Illinois was the last state to issue CCW permits? Do people not pay attention to NJ? We currently have a case waiting certification by SCOTUS (Drake) because NJ does not issue its residents a permit to carry. Although, NJ on paper says it is a “MAY” issue, it is factually a “NO” issue State.

    • People say it is the last state to issue permits because it is.
      While some places like NJ have virtual bans due to may issue nonsense, legally speaking there is still a route to a carry permit.
      Illinois had an outright ban for carry for every non-government agent of the state, regardless of connections, money, etc. Although we Average Joes are now in a better place because we have shall-issue (mostly), it took longer to get here at all.

      • Nigil, I hear you. in NJ there is just a little over 1200 carry permits in a State of slightly over 8 million. of those 1200, the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY are RPO’s and a hand full of Armored car drivers. In NJ, unless you are a retired police officer or this connected armored car driver, you do not get a permit to carry. There are very, very few civilians that have a permit to carry granted and usually they are forced to spend thousands of dollars on lawyers bringing their cases to court, appeals court and so on. NJ has a “may issue” with “Justifiable need” law, it is impossible to meet this requirement as the way NJ law is written. NJ proves to its people over and over again that it is NOT a “MAY ISSUE” state be constantly denying us.

        I am one of a few current plaintiffs against NJ currently due to this denial in NJ.

        • Best of luck. I think if I won the lottery, I’d go to law school and take up pro bono causes like this around the country.

  30. I just got an application number of 11206 over a week ago and mine shows still under review. Just wondering how much longer before approval.

    • My brother’s was under review for a couple weeks before approval. Mine was about the same and was then denied.

  31. I submitted mine on 5/9/14 and my application # is 000013010 – I wonder if my # Is so low because I accessed the application in January and filled out everything but uploading the certificate and photo…?

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