Carry on: courts affirm gun carriage.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Citings - Brief article

IN SEPTEMBER, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down a state law barring possession of loaded weapons in public. The decision, which cut against previous state appellate court rulings, followed the groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court decisions Heller v. D.C. (2008), which recognized a personal right to possess weapons for self-defense in the home, and McDonald v. Chicago (2010), which extended that doctrine to states and localities.

In the new case, Illinois v. Aguilar, the Illinois court held that the need for self-defense is not limited to the home. The court thus overthrew Illinois' carry ban, though it recognizes that the right to...