I understand.
Now it's your turn.
I am a permit holder for the state of Illinois to carry a weapon. Do I carry a firearm regularly? How would you know! Do you see it? Is it in my purse, my car, my boot...? The real answer: no. I do not carry a weapon regularly. But I am a statistic and I do enjoy the freedom of having a firearm, the security in knowing the laws that LAW ABIDING gun holders abide by (note the Caps lock there... I'll get back to that) and the simple satisfaction I got from passing the coursework.
Let's talk about the words "law abiding" for a minute here.
People illegally carry firearms constantly. Carrying firearms in Illinois was illegal to non-law enforcement personnel until January of 2014. Did gun violence exist before January of 2014 in the state of Illinois? OF COURSE IT DID! Guns were not inaccessible to people before that time. The fact of the matter is that law breakers will always find a way to break the law. Do speed limit signs stop people from speeding? Do age restrictions keep high school students from abusing alcohol at proms? Absolutely not. The Concealed Carry Law in Illinois has been created to help law abiding citizens safely and effectively carry their weapons.
My “shot in the dark” guess here (pun intended) is that when one pictures a gun carrier, they picture a scary man with a thirst to destroy things. But while you are putting up these “No Guns Allowed” signs, think of this: The carrier of the firearm absolutely could be that scary man with an aggression problem. He could have illegally obtained a weapon, stolen a weapon, never fired a weapon… whatever! But that weapon carrier could also be permitted by the state of Illinois, cautious, and careful with the firearm. That man with the destructive spirit? Probably didn’t qualify for a permit and here is why.
Did you know that to obtain a Concealed Carry Permit in the state of Illinois, it takes 16 hours of coursework? 12 of those hours are spent in a classroom learning the intricate laws of where and when to carry. Carrying near a school? Not allowed. Carrying in a building with a decal SOLD BY THE STATE OF ILLINOIS (no self made stickers will do!)? Not allowed. After those 12 hours of class work these permit holders head to a gun range. 4 hours of gun safety and firing. Four hours of preparation to keep the gun carrier and everyone around them safe. Then, the applicant must pay a hefty application fee, pay for electronic fingerprints to be taken, pay for a background check both federally and criminally and then they wait. The time commitment for this permit is well over 16 hours and the price tag for one person is over $500. Any glitch in your background check, fingerprints, etc. and your application is turned down. Therefore, the permits are not easily obtained and therefore only a handful of Illinois residents have received theirs.
Remember that aggressive gun carrier I was talking about before? Without a permit, he is already illegally carrying a firearm, no matter how he obtained the weapon itself. Do you think a small decal in a window is going to stop him from carrying his gun? Probably not. He is, in fact, a danger to society. He is, in fact, a law breaker. No amount of gun laws will prevent a person like this from existing; rather, they will prevent law abiding citizens from being able to protect themselves against an illegal firearm.
Soon, the smoke will clear (pun intended... AGAIN) on the Illinois Gun laws and the system will evolve, change, and adjust. Discomfort around guns will never cease to exist, but neither will the existence of those firearms. If they make you uncomfortable, the laws allow you to TRY and keep them out of your homes and establishments. If this avenue is of interest to you, be sure to contact the Illinois State Police for a licensed decal (this decal is backed up by legislation and protects you by the Illinois State Police) so that you can use local law enforcement officers to enforce your beliefs. If your “establishment” is a school, church, a building created by public funds, or a bar: fear not: law abiding gun carriers are not permitted to carry their weapons in those buildings or in a perimeter of those buildings anyways. Do not live in fear of the law abiding citizens who have a passion for self defense and safety. Continue to do what you have done for years: fear the law breakers and menaces to society. It is, after all, the ones who DON’T follow the rules that we need to look out for.