SAF Files Reply Brief with Supreme Court in Public Transit Carry Ban Case

BELLEVUE, Wash. — March 3, 2025 — The Second Modification Basis (SAF) has filed a reply in help of its petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Courtroom in Schoenthal v. Raoul, SAF’s problem to Illinois’ ban on public transit carry.

The lawsuit was initially filed in 2022 and challenges the general public transit firearms carry ban in Illinois. To lawfully carry a firearm within the state, residents are required to acquire not solely a Firearm Homeowners Identification Card (FOID), but in addition a hid carry license. Nonetheless, even with each the FOID card and a carry license, Illinois nonetheless bans carrying a firearm on “…any bus, practice, or type of transportation paid for in complete or partly with public funds, and any constructing, actual property, and parking space below the management of a public transportation facility paid for in complete or partly with public funds.”

“One of many animating rules behind the Second Modification is the flexibility to be armed in public in case of confrontation,” mentioned SAF Government Director Adam Kraut. “The sensible impact of banning stick with it public transit is apparent – anybody who depends on it faces a de facto ban on their skill to hold wherever. There isn’t any historic help for the explicit ban of permitted stick with it all public transportation, and with out that the Second Modification and Supreme Courtroom have held that this regulation should be struck down.”

A District Courtroom in Illinois initially granted abstract judgment in favor of SAF and its companions within the case, agreeing the general public transit carry ban was unconstitutional. On enchantment, the Seventh Circuit reversed, permitting the ban to stay in place. SAF is joined within the case by the Firearms Coverage Coalition and three non-public residents.

“There’s little question these ‘delicate locations’ legal guidelines do little when it comes to thwarting criminals from carrying a firearm on public transit,” mentioned SAF founder and Government Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “In truth, the ban solely forces peaceful residents to disarm, leaving them and people round them extra susceptible to legal violence. The Second Modification equally protects your proper to hold for self-defense, whether or not you’re taking the practice to work or drive your automotive.”

For extra info go to SAF.org.

The Second Modification Basis (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt training, analysis, publishing and authorized motion group devoted to safeguarding and selling the elemental rights of people enshrined within the Second Modification of the US Structure. SAF engages in aggressive authorized motion to make sure the rules of armed self-defense, private liberty, and the possession of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Via public training initiatives, SAF teaches the significance of the Second Modification to advertise a society that values and workouts the correct to maintain and bear arms.