As long as an out-of-state visitor has properly registered their guns in their home state, they may legally transport them in Illinois without a license here, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled this week.
The court's decision stems from a 2005 case of a man who was arrested with a gun in a closed backseat armrest of his car.
Leonard Holmes was charged with felony aggravated unlawful use of weapon because he lacked a Firearm Owners Identification card and didn't have the gun in a case.
Holmes had a permit to carry a concealed firearm in Indiana, and the court held that Illinois law does not require a FOID card too. It also ruled the armrest served as a case.
"As the majority points out, if we were to strictly apply the FOID card requirement … nonresidents whose weapons are unloaded and enclosed in a case but who do not have an Illinois FOID card would be guilty of a felony," Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman wrote.
