Keys, Wallet, and Pistol: The Seventh Circuit Establishes a Constitutional Right to Carry Firearms Outside of the Home

In 2012, the Seventh Circuit decided Moore v. Madigan, declaring Illinois\u27 ban on concealed carry unconstitutional. With this decision, the court extended the Supreme Court\u27s previous Second Amendment jurisprudence. In 2008, the Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the constitutional right to bear arms includes a right to self-defense in the home; however, the Court did not state whether that right extended to a constitutional right to carry handguns in public. In his Moore opinion, Judge Posner decided that because the Second Amendment is a right to self-defense, citizens must be allowed to exercise that right outside their homes. By couching the right to bear arms in personal protection, the Seventh Circuit provided a logical and succinct argument to extend the right to bear arms outside of the home and into the street. This Note will discuss how the Seventh Circuit reached this monumental decision and the implications the decision has on the right to carry. It will conclude by showing that the Seventh Circuit\u27s opinion is consistent with the Supreme Court\u27s previous Second Amendment rulings