(GunReports.com) — The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry a gun outside the home.
The court ruled in the case of Alberto Aguilar, who was charged under a law that bars the carrying of uncased, loaded guns outside a person’s home, land or fixed place of business.
The Illinois Supreme Court cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller andMcDonald v. City of Chicago, which protected the right to own handguns within the home. “Neither Heller norMcDonald expressly limits the Second Amendment’s protections to the home,” the Illinois court said. “On the contrary, both decisions contain language strongly suggesting if not outright confirming that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms extends beyond the home.”
The court said that in striking down the law, “we are in no way saying that such a right is unlimited or is not subject to meaningful regulation.” Indeed, the court upheld Aguilar’s conviction under a second law that prohibits the possession of handguns by those under age 18. (The law has an exemption for hunting and target shooting.) Aguilar was 17 at the time of his arrest.
