News Local/State

State Police: 5,000 Concealed Carry Applications Approved

by The Associated Press, with additional reporting from Illinois Public Radio
 

Illinois State Police officials say the first concealed carry licenses are being mailed.  Officials said the first permits are being sent to new license holders Friday.

Illinois State Police say they've approved 5,000 applications so far.
 
State Police Col. Marc Maton says state police have denied 300 applications and received objections from local law enforcement agencies on 800 applicants.
 
Maton says 46,000 applications have been received so far. 

Brandon Phelps is a state representative who negotiated the new law.

"This is new to Illinois, but not new to the country," he said.  "We’re the last state to do this. Forty-nine other states already have a concealed carry process in their state and not one of them has ever repealed their law. So we think this will work."
 
Illinois gun owners began applying for the permits in January after the state became the last in the nation to allow people to carry concealed guns.
 
State officials believe as many as 400,000 people will apply for the concealed carry permits during the first year of the law.