Military - residency status for CCW license?


For anyone that is interested in following the current status: we are no further along than before. The legislature failed to address this issue during the Spring session, so military members stationed in IL who hold a driver's license from another state (that describes the vast majority of the ~20,000 stationed here) cannot conceal carry in Illinois. Only exceptions are members who happen to be a resident of and hold a concealed carry permit from HI, SC, VA, or NM.

Frustrating...
 

kwc said:
For anyone that is interested in following the current status: we are no further along than before. The legislature failed to address this issue during the Spring session, so military members stationed in IL who hold a driver's license from another state (that describes the vast majority of the ~20,000 stationed here) cannot conceal carry in Illinois.
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You sound surprised. They already met the minimum necessary to compel compliance with the court order. You actually expect them to expend any extra effort to make sure it is efficient and user friendly?
 
whodat2710 said:
You sound surprised. They already met the minimum necessary to compel compliance with the court order. You actually expect them to expend any extra effort to make sure it is efficient and user friendly?
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The surprise faded long ago, so no... annoyance and frustration over denial of my 2A rights is a better description.

I'm trying to maintain a degree of optimism and hope my rep can make some headway in the fall session.
 
kwc said:
The surprise faded long ago, so no... annoyance and frustration over denial of my 2A rights is a better description.

I'm trying to maintain a degree of optimism and hope my rep can make some headway in the fall session.
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Then learn the proper argument. They are not 2A rights. They are inalienable human rights. The Constitution is just there to protect them, not grant them.
 
whodat2710 said:
Then learn the proper argument. They are not 2A rights. They are inalienable human rights. The Constitution is just there to protect them, not grant them.
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I've spent 25 years, so far, fulfilling my oath as a military member to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, only to be denied its protections while my civilian counterparts exercise those rights (albeit with some significant restrictions).

As you stated, this state did nothing until ordered to do so by the courts. I'm not sure how a "proper argument" pointing out the difference between 2A rights and unalienable human rights would make any difference with the state legislature at this juncture. But if you can propose a course of action to make this happen I'm all ears.
 
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kwc said:
I've spent 25 years, so far, fulfilling my oath as a military member to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, only to be denied its protections while my civilian counterparts exercise those rights (albeit with some significant restrictions).

As you stated, this state did nothing until ordered to do so by the courts. I'm not sure how a "proper argument" pointing out the difference between 2A rights and unalienable human rights would make any difference with the state legislature at this juncture. But if you can propose a course of action to make this happen I'm all ears.
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Unfortunately, you probably don't have much of any legal basis to force Illinois to change their law due to this simple fact:

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Motor vehicle operator permits. The SSCRA does not preclude states from requiring persons who live within their borders to acquire a driver's license. Many states, however, allow service members to retain their license if issued from their domicile.
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Since the state of Illinois could require you to obtain an Illinois driver's license just to drive on their highways, it would stand to reason it would also be legal for them to require you to have the Illinois Driver's license or ID card to obtain a CWP. Not right, in my opinion, by probably legal.
 
I fear you could be correct regarding a legal challenge that could succeed in court. Efforts so far (unsuccessful to date) have focused on introducing legislation and changing the administrative rules used by the Illinois State Police to issue concealed carry licenses.

That being said, most military attorneys advise maintaining consistency with respect to driver's license, vehicle registration, voting, and payment of taxes to avoid the risk of a state claiming you as their resident. Obtaining an IL driver's license would force me to also register my vehicles in IL since a DL from my home state is needed to register there.

It shouldn't have to be this hard.
 
whodat2710 said:
Then learn the proper argument. They are not 2A rights. They are inalienable human rights. The Constitution is just there to protect them, not grant them.
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This statement was made in reply to the second part of your post
kwc said:
The surprise faded long ago, so no... annoyance and frustration over denial of my 2A rights is a better description.

I'm trying to maintain a degree of optimism and hope my rep can make some headway in the fall session.
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I would hope that you have been in contact with that representative, and was reminding you that in doing so you should voice your concern over an infringement of your human rights, not your constitutional ones. I too had over 25 years of service and am pushing my representatives similarly towards open carry and a lessening of the restrictions in SC.
 
whodat2710 said:
...I would hope that you have been in contact with that representative...
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My rep (actually from a neighboring district) is very "pro," was a co-sponsor of the original legislation, introduced a change bill per my prompting, and received dozens of co-sponsors for it. Unfortunately nothing has made it out of committee yet.
 
kwc said:
My rep (actually from a neighboring district) is very "pro," was a co-sponsor of the original legislation, introduced a change bill per my prompting, and received dozens of co-sponsors for it. Unfortunately nothing has made it out of committee yet.
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It takes a concerted effort by many individuals with lots of political horsepower to "entice" a Committee Chair to even put an item on the committee calendar for discussion/hearing/vote to move it to the floor where it may be voted on by the main legislature. Bluntly put, Committee Chairs have the power to completely block proposals from consideration.
 
Has there been any update to this issue? I'm in the same boat... active duty military with a FOID and an out of state DL.
 
The legislation introduced last year never made it out of committee, and with the new General Assembly, all old bills are dead. A whole slew of new legislation to address 2A issues (many pro, some anti) are now in the queue. I expect to see something similar introduced again this session.

Also note there is a lawsuit underway in Federal court, led by the Second Amendment Foundation, regarding Illinois' refusal to issue licenses to non-residents of all but four states. The lead plaintiff is an active duty military member. Original complaint was filed in Oct 2014 and the defendants (State Attorney General and the Illinois State Police) provided their response to the complaint last week. Unfortunately, these things take time to move through the legal system.

Public archive for the lawsuit is accessible here, with links to relevant documents:
http://ia801404.us.archive.org/27/items/gov.uscourts.ilcd.61910/gov.uscourts.ilcd.61910.docket.html

You can track the status of 2A-related bills here:
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I hope this helps!
 
More than a year has passed since my last update. We're making progress and things are looking much more promising this session. Anticipate a vote in the full Illinois Senate this week, and I'm optimistic about support in the House.

SB553 is the bill to watch. Those in Illinois, please call your state Senator!

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB0553
 
Congrats to all the service men and women trapped in Madiganistan!

Senate will likely pass it, fingers crossed for you guys and gals in the BDU's.
 
Despite a 53 to 1 favorable passage in the Senate, the House didn't get to this bill before the close of the session at midnight last night, reportedly due to a technical error in scheduling.

There is still hope it could move this summer.
 
chicagogunsmith said:
I have very high hopes it will be called up for vote in the Summer.
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I had the same hopes, but the Spring session is now over and it never made it to the floor of the House. Next chance is during the Fall veto session in November.

Hopefully we'll see success with the lawsuit now before the 7th circuit. That appears to be the only way to get anything done in this state.
 
The only problem with scheduling a bill is the Speaker of the House or the Senator Leader doesn't schedule it. They are the gatekeepers of all bill that go to the floor.
 
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