SPRINGFIELD - Lawmakers in Illinois' capitol are
taking up the concealed carry cause again, but this time the law is a little
different. The law is aimed at
reciprocity, meaning the laws in other states would apply here. Technically there still wouldn't be a
concealed carry law in Illinois, but Rockford area supporters
say it's a step in the right direction.
Bob Mlsna,
co-coordinator of the Rockford Tea Party says he's happy Springfield is trying once again to support
gun rights. Last month his group
delivered their petition for a concealed carry law in Winnebago County. The bill introduced by Rep. Bill Mitchell
(R-Decatur) will come pretty close to creating a concealed carry law, but the
bill does it in a roundabout way.
"It's time Illinois gets serious
about supporting the bill of rights," said Mitchell.
House Bill 6225
would make it legal for people to carry a concealed weapon in the Prairie State.
You would have to have a valid FOID card, have successfully completed a
gun safety course, but here's the catch, you need a valid concealed carry
license from another state.
Mlsna says he's
applying for those out of state licenses.
"Right now the most
popular concealed carry permits for Illinois
resident to get are the Utah and Florida," said
Mlsna. "They give us I think 37-40
states in America
that you have the right to carry in with those permits."
You wouldn't have
to go much farther than your computer to get one of the permits. States like Utah have their permit online. All you have to do is print it out, fill out
the proper information including a background check, fingerprints, etc. Submit your application to Utah
and in about two months you can have a concealed carry permit issued from the Beehive State.
If the bill doesn't
pass, Mlsna says both his Utah and Florida carry permits
will still take him a long way.
"Between the two of
them we would be able to legally carry a concealed carry weapon in every state
that borders Illinois."
The bill is still a
long way from a vote, but Winnebago
County might come closer
to having that concealed carry law here.
The county board's public safety committee will finally review the
petition the Tea Party submitted last month, next week.
