Illinois Carry sends congratulations today to Wisconsin gun owners. In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker today signed SB 93, which established Wiconsin as the nation's 41st shall-issue right-to-carry state. In November, when the bill takes effect, only eight states will be left clinging to "may-issue" permit systems which allow law enforcement officials to apply the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms selectively--and Illinois will be left alone in its own dark corner, the last remaining state in the union with no provision for legal carry of defensive weapons for its citizens.

As Illinois gun owners toast our friends to the north, however, the fight continues here in Illinois. Yesterday, attorneys David Jensen and David Sigale filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the state of Illinois from enforcing its unconstitutional ban on the right to bear arms. Today, attorneys for the Illinois State Rifle Association and Mary Shepard filed a similar motion asking for the same relief in Shepard v. Madigan. In its decision this week, which dismissed Chicago's firing range ban as "too cute by half" and explained that infringing on 2nd Amendment rights creates "irreparable harm" that can't be compensated by simply paying damages, the 7th Circuit ruled that the city could not be allowed to continue its infringements while the case against it was ongoing, since the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on the merits.

Plaintiffs in Moore v. Illinois, including Illinois Carry, hope that the same straightforward logic will be applied to Illinois' ban on right to carry. The Second Amendment Foundation reported:

“Now that the Seventh Circuit has recognized that the deprivation of the right of armed self-defense is an inherently irreparable injury, it is clear that Illinois’ law-abiding gun owners are entitled to a protective injunction,” said attorney David Jensen of New York, who, along with Glen Ellyn, IL attorney David Sigale, is representing SAF and the other plaintiffs.

“Yesterday’s win was a wake-up call to Chicago,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Today’s motion is a signal to the Illinois Legislature that the state’s total ban on carrying of firearms for personal protection is counter to both Supreme Court rulings on the Second Amendment, and yesterday’s ruling by the Seventh Circuit appeals panel that shredded Chicago’s gun ordinance. Our victory Wednesday and today’s motion are key components of SAF’s overall mission to win back firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time.”