City Prepares For New Concealed Carry Gun Law

CHICAGO — This city, where violent street gangs shoot it out dozens of times a week despite some of the nation’s toughest restrictions on guns, now faces a new challenge: Well-meaning citizens with the legal right to hit the streets with loaded firearms, whenever they want.

As Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn mulls whether to sign off on eliminating the country’s last concealed carry ban, the question in Chicago is whether it will matter in the crime-weary city. Will a place that long had some of the nation’s tightest restrictions on handguns be more at risk? Or will it be safer with a law that can only add to the number of guns already on the street?