Last December, in Moore v. Madigan, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry guns in public. In light of Heller and McDonald, the decision was pretty much a no-brainer. The ruling threw out Illinois’s law banning the bearing of arms in public, but stayed the ruling for 180 days to give Illinois time to craft a new law that comports with the Constitution.
However, the Cook County (Chicago) state attorney’s office has said that Illinois can ignore the ruling. In what can only be called a novel legal theory, they claim that the federal courts are powerless to declare state laws unconstitutional:
“Only the Illinois Supreme Court can declare a statue from (the legislature) unconstitutional,” Castiglione told lawmakers Tuesday.
Astonishing.
POSTSCRIPT: Just a couple of days later, the full 7th Circuit denied Illinois’s appeal. The case now goes to the Supreme Court, if they chose to take it. I think they will, not to overturn it, but to extend it to the entire country.
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