Illinois State Police say they’re expecting hundreds of thousands of people to apply for permits to carry concealed weapons in 2014. As Illinois Public Radio’s Alex Keefe reports, the state begins taking general applications this weekend.
You might have some work to do if you plan to apply online for a concealed carry permit starting Sunday. First, you need 16 hours of state-certified gun training, and a valid firearm owners ID card. You can get your fingerprints scanned electronically to speed up the process - but you MUST catalogue all home addresses over the last decade for a background check. Colonel Marc Maton with the Illinois State Police, says when it comes to exactly how many people will apply...
"We don’t know. We’ve been working throughout the bill negotiation process with a number of three to four hundred thousand that was based upon experiences in other states."
Maton says the first concealed carry permits could begin going out in mid January. Illinois was the last state in the country to legalize concealed carry - and it only did so after a federal judge said it had to.