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Crime & Safety

Is Concealed Carry Impractical or Near Impossible in Batavia?

Part 1 of a two-part series.

A recent review of the state laws regarding concealed carry makes it hard to imagine how police in Batavia would enforce the law — or how a law-abiding citizen could carry a concealed weapon in town without more than a bit of inconvenience.

While Batavia and Geneva have separate police departments, the enforcement issues that surround the state legislation are very similar. Geneva Police Chief Steve Mexin made a comprehensive report to the City Council a couple weeks ago that reveals some of the intricacies of the concealed carry regulations local police departments will have the duty of enforcing after applications are accepted, starting Jan. 5.

As Mexin described it, there are quite a few places where guns aren't allowed, even with a proper license.

Those places include — but are not limited to — parks, schools, any public buildings, some restaurants and most taverns, liquor stores, any preschool or child-care facility, sporting events, bike paths, hospitals, mental health facilities and nursing homes, airports, zoos, museums, buses, trains, at special events or public gatherings and in any home if the homeowner objects.

Strictly speaking, a person would be in violation of the law if he or she were carrying a concealed weapon during Swedish Days or Festival of the Vine or any Geneva festival, Mexin said. A police officer could stop or arrest someone for carrying a concealed weapon through downtown Geneva during a festival unless that person could show evidence that he or she is just passing through town.

“There’s almost nowhere you can go with it, it seems like,” Geneva 3rd Ward Alderman Dawn Vogelsberg said after Mexin's report.

The Firearms Concealed Carry Act became law July 9, 2013, Mexin said, but it will take until Jan. 5, 2014, for the state to begin taking applications. Once that happens, each license is to be issued within 90 days of application being submitted, although police departments have 30 days to object to the license being granted.

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The licensee has to be 21 years old, submit fingerprints, undergo a comprehensive criminal background check, submit a recent color head-and-shoulder photo and submit evidence that he or she has completed 16 hours of firearms training, including classroom and range instruction. 

After getting the license, the "concealed" part of concealed carry is important, Mexin explained. In fact, the owner is required to keep the weapon out of sight, usually under a jacket or other article of clothing, or inside a container, such as a purse. Mexin said a "partially concealed" is allowed because a gun-owner might show the firearm when his or her coat opens, for example, but the intent of the law is that firearms aren't supposed to be worn in plain sight.

There are there are other requirements to carry a gun, as well. The owner:

  • Must be in possession of his/her current and valid state issued license.
  • Must be in possession of a current and valid FOID card.
  • Must keep the firearm completely or almost completely concealed from public view.
  • Shall not carry a concealed firearm when under the influence of alcohol or drugs according to the standards set by the IVC.
  • Shall not carry a concealed firearm into or onto any property where doing so is prohibited by this Act. 

An applicant also has to apply with every state in which he or she carries the weapon. For example, an Illinois license isn't accepted in Indiana. "There is no reciprocity," Mexin said.

One of the arguments by gun proponents is that crime can go down when law-abiding citizens carry weapons, because the criminal doesn't know who might be carrying. Some have argued that shooters in Newtown, CT, or Aurora, CO, might have been stopped if someone in the school or theater had been carrying a weapon.

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Geneva 5th Ward Alderman Tom Simonian said he appreciated Mexin's presentation, but said the conditions of the legislation seemed to him restrictive.

"Every place where the idiot might be (carrying a weapon) is where (the legal gun-owner) can't go," he noted. "In my opinion, that’s why we’re the last state to get (concealed carry), when we’re putting all these conditions on it."


Prohibited Areas (Section 65)

 

A licensee shall not knowingly carry a firearm on or into any building, real property, and parking area under the control of: 

1. A public or private elementary or secondary school. 

2. A pre-school or child care facility, including any room or portion of a building under the control of a pre-school or child care facility.

3. An office of the executive or legislative branch of government, except licensees may carry a concealed firearm onto the real property, bikeway, or trail in a park regulated by the Department of Natural Resources or any other designated public hunting area or building where firearm possession is permitted. 

4. An adult or juvenile detention or correctional institution, prison or jail.

5. A public or private hospital or hospital affiliate, mental health facility or nursing home.

6. An establishment that serves alcohol on its premises, if more than 50% of the establishment’s gross receipts within the prior three months is from the sale of alcohol.

7. A gaming facility licensed under the Riverboat Gambling Act or the Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975 including an inter-track wagering location licensee.

A licensee shall not knowingly carry a firearm on or into any:

8. Public library, airport, amusement park, zoo or museum.

9. Public playground, public park, athletic area, or athletic facility under the control of a park district.

10. Cook County Forest Preserve District property.

11. Building, classroom, athletic venue, entertainment venue, parking area, common area, etc. of an public or private community college, college, or university.

12. Circuit Court, Appellate Court or Supreme Court buildings.

13. Buildings under the control of local government.

14. Special events or public gatherings conducted on property open to the public and requires the issuance of a permit from unit of local government.

15. Stadium, arena or real property under the control of a stadium or arena.

16. Bus, train or other form of public transportation or any real property under the control of a public transportation facilit 

17. Any real property owned or controlled by a nuclear energy, storage, weapons, or development site.

18. Any area where firearms are prohibited by federal law.

19. Any building or real property that has been issued a special event or special use permit during the time designated for the sale of alcohol at that location. 

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