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Illinois: Judge rules ban on firearms on public transportation unconstitutional

Judge Iain D. Johnston declared the state-imposed ban failed constitutional scrutiny, commenting that "individual rights are not overridden on public property."

Control de armas, pistola

Guns and bulletsPexels / Enrico Hänel.

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Verónica Silveri Pazos

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A judge in Illinois declared a state law that prohibited carrying firearms on public transportation is unconstitutional. Judge Iain D. Johnston ruled with respect to two Chicago-area transit systems:

After a thorough review of the parties' submissions and the historical record, as required by Supreme Court precedent, the Court finds that defendants failed to meet their burden of showing an American tradition of firearms regulation at the time of the Founding that would allow Illinois to prohibit plaintiffs, who hold concealed carry permits, from carrying concealed handguns for self-defense on the CTA and Metra.

‘Individual rights are not overridden on public property’

The law, which was designed to reduce gun violence in densely populated areas, was challenged by gun rights groups, who argued that it violated the Second Amendment of the Constitution. According to the judge's decision, the ban imposed by Illinois did not pass constitutional scrutiny, as it did not provide sufficient justification for restricting a fundamental right.

Johnston added treating "any place where the government wants to protect public order and safety as a sensitive place casts too wide a net.... [and] would seem to justify almost any gun restriction." He also added that "individual rights are not overridden on public property" and asserted that the court found that the Second Amendment "protects against governmental, not private, intrusion on rights and liberties."

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