CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 15 attorneys general supporting New York’s concealed carry regulations by asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit to reverse a lower court decision that preliminarily enjoined certain aspects of New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA). In an amicus brief, Raoul and the coalition argue that the lower court’s decision was wrong because the enjoined provisions of the CCIA are consistent with Supreme Court precedent and with a long tradition of states enacting similar regulations to meet their responsibility to protect residents from the harmful effects of gun violence.
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“The lower court’s decision suspending commonsense measures within New York law to protect the safety of its residents from the devastating effects of gun violence must be reversed,” Raoul said. “I am honored to continue the work with my fellow attorneys general to ensure states like New York can implement firearm regulations that promote safety, prevent crime and minimize gun violence.”
In the brief, Raoul and the coalition explain the CCIA requirements that establish concealed carry license requirements and implement restrictions on carrying firearms in certain sensitive places, such as public parks, airports and places of religious worship, are constitutional and effective.
Raoul argues licensing requirements offer a straightforward and effective way to screen out individuals who lack the character, temperament or judgment necessary to be trusted with a potentially deadly weapon and restrictions on public firearm carriage in sensitive places protect people from the heightened risk of violence in those locations.
The brief is the most recent step in Attorney General Raoul’s work to address gun violence throughout Illinois and across the nation. The Attorney General’s office created a state-of-the-art crime-gun tracing database for Illinois law enforcement called Crime Gun Connect. Raoul’s office also collaborates with local law enforcement to combat gun trafficking and has used the office’s jurisdiction to prosecute multi-county gun trafficking offenses. Additionally, the Attorney General’s office works with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to increase awareness of Illinois’ red flag law and to address gaps in Illinois’ firearms licensing system. The office also continues to prosecute individuals who lie on FOID card applications.
The Attorney General’s office partners with the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) to try to avert violence by hosting trainings for law enforcement officers, educators, religious leaders and other community members that are designed to prevent targeted acts of violence.
Attorney General Raoul has persistently advocated at the federal and state levels to strengthen regulation of 3D-printed guns and ghost guns. Illinois law now prohibits ghost guns, but the office continues to fight in federal court to help defend a recent rule closing the federal loophole. Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s office also defends cases pending in courts across the state challenging Illinois regulations of firearms. Nationally, Attorney General Raoul successfully filed and resolved a lawsuit to get the federal firearm license of an unscrupulous arms manufacturer revoked.
In addition to supporting law enforcement efforts to keep communities safe from gun violence, the Attorney General’s office supports victims’ service providers around Illinois that offer trauma-informed services for crime victims and their families. Raoul’s Violence Prevention and Crime Victim Services Division administers a host of programs and services to assist survivors of violent crime. More information is available on the Attorney General’s website.
Joining Raoul in the filing the brief, are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
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