Second Amendment Split in Authority Deepens

At Volokh Conspiracy, Eugene Volkh posts about the Illinois Supreme Court's unanimous decision striking down sections 24-1.6(a)(1), (a)(3)(A) of Illinois's aggravated unlawful use of weapons statute.  These sections prohibited individuals from carrying loaded, accessible firearms.  The statute also prohibits individuals from carrying stun guns or tasers that are "loaded" and accessible -- which would presumably ban the carrying of these weapons as long as they are functional.

Volokh summarizes the split in authority:

This deepens the lower appellate court on split on whether the Second Amendment secures a right to carry a gun in public. Most of the decisions say “no.” See, e.g., Kachalsky v. County of Westchester, 701 F.3d 81, 96 (2d Cir. 2012); Woolard v. Gallagher, 712 F.3d 865 (4th Cir. 2013); People v. Dykes, 209 P.3d 1, 49 (Cal. 2009); Little v. United States, 989 A.2d 1096 (D.C. 2010); People v. Dawson, 934 N.E.2d 598 (Ill. App. Ct. 2010); Williams v. State, 10 A.3d 1167 (Md. 2011); Commonwealth v. McCollum, 945 N.E.2d 937 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011); People v. Perkins, 880 N.Y.S.2d 209 (App. Div. 2009). Indeed, McCollum went so far as to say that possessing a gun in someone else’s home can be punished, without regard to whether the resident has allowed or even asked the gun owner to bring the gun.

On the other side are Moore v. Madigan, 702 F.3d 933 (7th Cir. 2012), plus now the Illinois Supreme Court decision, Ex parte Roque Cesar Nido Lanausse, No. KLAN201000562 (P.R. Cir. 2011), http://www.volokh.com/?p=46217, which seems to hold the same, and People v. Yanna, 824 N.W.2d 241 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012), which so states, albeit in dictum.

Because of this split, I expect that if the state of Illinois chooses to petition for certiorari, there would be a good chance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s agreeing to review the case. But Illinois decided not to petition for review fromMoore v. Madigan, so I suspect they wouldn’t do so here.

I posted about the split in authority on the carrying of firearms here.  This case deepens the split, and it will be interesting to see if other jurisdictions end up taking the Illinois Supreme Court's approach.  While a United States Supreme Court grant of certiorari may not be immediately forthcoming, the current split may continue to perpetuate itself if courts interpret the split to indicate that there is no clear answer on the issue.