Illinois Legislature Votes to Recognize Right to Self-Defense and Overrides Governor Quinn's Veto of Concealed Carry Bill

Illinois House Bill 183, as passed by both chambers in May, now in effect.

On Tuesday, June 10, on the court-ordered deadline for Illinois to enact a concealed carry law, both chambers of the Illinois Legislature voted to override the Amendatory Veto by Governor Pat Quinn (D) on House Bill 183 that he issued last week. The state House voted 77-31 and the state Senate 41-17 to uphold the rights of Illinois residents and to enact HB 183 as passed by both legislative chambers in May. Governor Quinn’s irresponsible amendatory veto, had it been allowed to stand, would have imposed some of the strictest concealed carry laws in the nation. The provisions of House Bill 183 are now in effect, and Illinois finally joins the rest of the nation in recognizing the inherent right to self-defense of its residents. The Illinois State Police have 180 days to develop a system to issue concealed carry permits to Illinois residents.

House Bill 183 passed in the state legislature in May in an attempt to comply with a ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on December 11, 2012, that invalidated Illinois' total ban on carrying firearms for self-defense.

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