Suburban gun owners want concealed carry expanded

Suburban gun owners rallied at the state Capitol Wednesday, urging lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner to expand where people can legally carry firearms in Illinois.

Gun proponents convened for their annual Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day and cited personal protection as a reason for expanding concealed carry.

“Predators look for places people are unarmed,” said Dawn Waters, a Lombard resident.

If there are signs outlawing concealed weapons in certain areas, residents without guns become open targets for predators, said Waters, who said she is a firearms instructor.

“Everyone there using public transportation, going to forest preserves, they're in trouble. They are sitting ducks,” Waters said.

State lawmakers on board with concealed carry expansion have introduced legislation that would allow concealed weapons on public transportation and in parking lots, rest stops and Cook County forest preserves.

Gun owners donned yellow shirts and marched from a Springfield convention center to the Capitol. They rallied on the Capitol's front steps waving “Don't tread on me” flags and signs reading “We're not going away.”

Once inside the Capitol, gun rights enthusiasts flooded legislative offices and hallways passing out forms urging lawmakers to pass legislation that would increase gun rights.

“Concealed carry people are actually more law-abiding than the average citizen,” shooting sports enthusiast Michael Gabriel of Wheaton said.

Gabriel said he thinks Rauner will hear the gun owners' message.

“Rauner gets it. He knows where we're coming from,” Gabriel said.