Illinois Concealed-Carry Transit Ban Hits Appellate History Test

Illinois’ prohibition of concealed carry on public transit has an analog in the firearm restrictions onboard 19th-century passenger railroads, an attorney for the state told appellate judges Wednesday in arguments that at times had the flavor of dueling history lectures.

Railroads of the era “weren’t ordinary corporations,” Illinois Deputy Solicitor General Alex Hemmer told the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Rather, he said, they were understood to be “quasi-public.”

“They could exercise eminent domain, they were subject to mandamus actions, they undertook public duties,” Hemmer said.

In response, an attorney for concealed-carry license holders argued that the ...