Attorney General Wants To Send Concealed Carry Cases Out Of Court

Illinois gun owners who have been denied a concealed carry permit can appeal. But instead of going through the courts, Illinois' Attorney General wants a state panel to decide those cases.

There are about 200 concealed carry denials before Illinois courts, brought by people who say they shouldn't have been deemed dangerous or a threat to public safety by Illinois' Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board.

Until recently, applicants didn't actually know why they were rejected.

In response to the swarm of lawsuits, the State Police just issued new rules. From here on out, the review board must tell applicants why they were denied; those applicants also have a ten-day window to write a written objection.

Rather than continue fight it out in court, Illinois' Attorney General is going to ask that all of the ongoing lawsuits be tossed back to the licensing board.

"The reasoning for that is based on the concerns that the applicants have raised, one of those being an opportunity to respond to the board's reasoning for objecting, or questioning, an applicant for concealed carry license," said Natalie Bauer, the Attorney General's spokeswoman, 

But Pete Baroni, an attorney for some of the gun-owners who've been rejected by the panel, said that's not good enough. He said due process isn't sending a letter -- it's giving a denied applicant a proper court hearing, with evidence and an opportunity to cross-examine witnesses.