Concealed carry bill postponed in Illinois House

[Update: May 9, 2011, 7:16 p.m. CST] The Illinois House of Representatives have postponed voting on the concealed carry bill, although a House committee passed the bill on Tuesday. It only received 65 of the 71 votes it needed to pass. Thirty-two lawmakers voted against it.

If this bill become a law, it would have allowed Illinois residents to carry weapons on or near their person out of plain sight, provided they have secured a Concealed Carry Weapons permit and have gone through proper training.

Supporters of this bill remind the opposition that it is an American's constitutional right to bear arms. Illinois is one of the last states to possibly grant that right, as far as it pertains to concealed carry, to its citizens. Every other state, except Wisconsin, permits its residents to carry weapons, or have may-issue policies, where applicants must go though a long process to carry a firearm.

What does this mean for DePaul students?

DePaul safety policies state students may not carry weapons on campus. But by attending university in the heart of this city, students would have been among people who may be carrying concealed weapons, had this bill passed.

Students voiced opinions both for and against concealed carry.

Graham Gilreath, a DePaul sophomore and Student Life worker, said that if this law were carried out correctly and safely, the possession of concealed weapons could add to the overall protection of the population.

Students involved in school shootings like what happened at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University have said that if they had been armed, they would have shot back, and protected themselves. They could have added to the protection of the university population.

"I think people can and will be responsible in most cases," Laura Jo Clanton, a DePaul graduate student, said. "But they should be tested regularly for the judgment, ability, and stability."

She believes that everyone should be legally allowed to carry a gun, if they pass the proper licensing tests, training, and are mentally and emotionally capable of owning a weapon and using it solely for protection. Clanton also suggested it would be a good idea for owners to be re-tested every year.

Life-long Chicago resident and DePaul graduate student Rhonda Alexander wholeheartedly disagrees with the passing of this bill.

"It's a recipe for disaster," Alexander said.

She explained that the news is so filled with reports of violence resulting in serious injury, stemming from trivial disagreements, like an accidental shove, or losing a good parking spot to another driver. It scares Alexander to think of what violence might come from these small arguments, should residents be allowed to carry concealed weapons.

The next logical step in this process would be to decide on the issue of campus carry, had this bill passed. Nine states are currently debating whether or not to allow concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses. Legislation for campus carry is currently in the Texas House of Representatives, pushing for the right to self-defense at college, as it is allowed everywhere else in the state.

"Weapons should absolutely not be allowed on campus," Alexander said. "But the fact that this school operates within the very busy limits of a major city makes it impossible to avoid if this bill passes."

The question of enforcement does come into play here. Although the campus does have definite lines dividing the school from the rest of the community, the sheer volume of movement across those lines would make it difficult for Public Safety personnel to track who is armed and who isn't.

Since DePaul is a private institution, the decision on whether to allow concealed carry on campus would have been made by the university. But the bill would have allowed concealed carry in K-12 public schools and public universities, with school consent.

Even supporters of the bill at DePaul think along the same lines, that weapons are not appropriate for a university campus.

"I feel like campuses are not a place where a person has a reasonable expectation of being harmed," Clanton explained. She went on to say that campus carry would not be necessary in that respect.

Gilreath said he would shy away from having guns on campus. He does not believe a lot of students are ready for that power.

DePaul faculty members have also voiced concerns about being armed on campus. Should they need to give out a less than stellar grade of critique, could they be in danger at DePaul?

This controversial bill has also shown Illinois residents exactly where their elected officials stand on the gun rights issue.

State Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) wrote the proposal for this bill. The Democrat from Southern Illinois asserts that all Illinois residents should be able to carry concealed weapons, because of a simple law of deterrence echoing Gilreath's opinion: the more guns people carry, the safer they will be.

Phelps told the Quad-City Times, "I've never had the groundswell or the grassroots effort that this bill is getting and the attention that it's getting right now." Thousands of supporters of the bill protested in Springfield last March, held by the Illinois State Rifle Association.