Illinois Supreme Court: Gun ban near parks unconstitutional

By Chris Eger

The state’s highest court on Thursday invalidated the Illinois prohibition on possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a park.
In a unanimous decision handed down in favor of Julio Chairez, who was convicted in 2013 of carrying a gun near a park in Aurora, Illinois, the state Supreme Court said the law itself was unconstitutional.
The court held that the 1,000-foot rule, especially since the resulting gun free zones surrounding parks are hard to define, that a gun owner could inadvertently violate the law just by just turning a street corner, or simply living near to a park. Further, the panel said the state did a poor job of making their case.
“In sum, based on the record, the State provides no evidentiary support for its claims that prohibiting firearms within 1,000 feet of a public park would reduce the risks it identifies,” wrote Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier for the majority. “Without specific data or other meaningful evidence, we see no direct correlation between the information the State provides and its assertion that a 1,000-foot firearm ban around a public park protects children, as well as other vulnerable persons, from firearm violence.”
Chairez originally accepted a plea agreement in 2013 to carrying

Source: Guns.com