Implementation of Illinois' Concealed Carry Law Raises Concerns

 Posted on May 09, 2014 in Criminal Law

In 2013, Illinois passed the Family and Personal Protection Act, a concealed carry firearm law. The law requires Illinois residents to submit an application to the Illinois State Police Department for permission to legally carry concealed firearms in the state. Such permits are ultimately awarded by the state sheriff's department, and require that applicants be at least 21 years of age or older. Applicants must also have completed a 16-hour training course in order to be considered for a permit. Implementation of this law has already been criticized as being extremely lax, and thus not fulfilling the legislative intent evident in its passing.

 Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has made some startling revelations regarding the current implementation of Illinois' Concealed Carry Law. It has been reported that 12 people who received permits under the new law had extensive criminal backgrounds that include orders of protection, as well as an arrest for a threat to kill an Illinois law enforcement professional. The bigger picture has not delivered more desirable results. Since 2014, of the 9,349 Cook County citizens who submitted applications for concealed carry permits, Dart's office discovered that 300 of these applicants had extensive criminal records that included sex crimes, gun crimes, gang involvement, domestic violence, and other comparable violent crime convictions. Two hundred and ninety-five of these applicants were approved by the Illinois State Department to receive a concealed carry permit before their applications were submitted to the Cook County Sheriff's office for final approval.

 The Fears Raised by Dart's Findings

 The Cook County Sheriff's Office is the place where Illinois State Police approved permit applications are sent for final review. The fact that many applications have been approved that involve people with violent crime records indicate that sheriff departments are not taking the time to thoroughly vet applicants. Furthermore, Dart declared the Illinois Concealed Carry Law as "unworkable" because his office is prohibited from utilizing LEADS, a national police database with a full listing of past nationwide arrest records. This prohibition exists because the Illinois State Police department has stated that LEADS can only be used for criminal justice issues; the FBI, the provider of LEADS, considers concealed carry laws as administrative, and thus not criminal in nature.