Photo: POLICE file
A federal appeals court struck down Illinois' ban on carrying a concealed, permitted handgun Tuesday in the latest victory for gun-rights advocates.
U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the nation's last remaining state ban on concealed carry by a 2-1 vote and declared the law unconstitutional.
In the ruling, justices wrote that the state failed to prove that its "uniquely sweeping ban is justified by an increase in public safety," reports the Chicago Tribune.
The decision is a major victory for the National Rifle Association, which had challenged the ban. Wisconsin became the 49th state to end its ban on concealed carry in June 2011.
