Crossing Illinois

[Hardscrable]

I need to make a trip to Arkansas to visit my best friend who is literally on his deathbed...estimated 4-6 weeks left. I know that Illinois has zero options to "carry." Is there any way to legally "transport" a handgun & ammo across the state ?
I hate the thought of going unarmed. I am considering "hiding" the items @ state line, driving at or below the speed limit, and making no stops in Illinois but hate to risk it.
Does anyone have any answers or experience ?

 

[Eddie]

Just get a case that you can put your gun in. Unload it or dissassemble it and you are good to go. Here is the Illinois State Police FAQ:

Firearm Owner's Frequently Asked Questions

 

[66chevelle]

The wife and myself are going to Little Rock the end of May to visit her aunt who had cancer. I am planning on going down 65 to 40 and then across. This way I can carry the whole time and go through Tennessee.

 

[gglass]

You are covered under "Peaceable Journey Laws" fall under federal jurisdiction, and allow a gun owner who is legal to possess a gun in their home state, to travel to another state that allows them to legally possess a gun, as long as it is safely stored away during travel. This means that as long as you put the unloaded firearm into a container in the trunk, you can legally cross all 48 states, without regard to the local and state firearm laws of the states in between your home and destination.

Sec. 926A. Interstate transportation of firearms


Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or
regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any
person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from
transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to
transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he
may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place
where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during
such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the
firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible
or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such
transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle
without a compartment separate from the driver's compartment the
firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container
other than the glove compartment or console.

EFFECTIVE DATE
Section effective on date on which Firearms Owners' Protection
Act, Pub. L. 99-308, became effective, see section 2 of Pub. L.
99-360, set out as an Effective Date of 1986 Amendments note under
section 921 of this title.

 

[melensdad]

NOT ONLY are you covered under the peaceable journey law, but there have been some court rulings in Illinois that have actually HELPED gun owners.

As long as the gun is UNLOADED it is legal to transport the gun in any container. A glovebox of a car has been ruled to be a legal container. However, you should have the ammo in your armrest, not in your glove box.

If you want to avoid all grief, put it all UNLOADED, into your suitcase in your trunk, or in a box in your trunk, etc.

 

[DRob]

Illinois

We cross Illinois 2-3 times a year with 8-10 guns (including a couple of handguns) and 3K rds of ammo heading for the prairie dog wars. All the guns are unloaded, cased, and locked in the back of the truck. Even though I know I'm legal, I always worry about crossing the People's Republik.

 

[RearFlankDowndraft]

Should be GTG as long as it's unloaded, and in a completely enclosed container, case, box, etc. IL residents would have to have a FOID. Stay out of Chicago and you won't have any problems.

 

[WIZZO499]

1. Unloaded 2. Fully encased. It's that easy.

EDIT: I was a resident of IL for 23 years up until last October.

 

[SheriffMedic95]

If I were you (from what I've heard), I'd take the long route around IL or become LE!

 

[nox]

So what constitutes "Unloaded" in IL? A cleared chamber and magazine out of gun, or does the magazine itself also need to be empty even if not in the gun?

 

[UltraRick]

Illinois sux!

 

[fastwally]

I cross Illinois about six times a year, gun in one suite case, ammo and mag in another in the back and your good to go. As said before the recent Il supreme court rulings are pretty liberal on what constitutes a case for the gun.

 

[mospeada]

Do yourself a favor and remove any bumper stickers and whatnot that identifies you as a gun owner. Once the five-oh sees you're out of state and an NRA member, they see an arrest waiting to happen.

That said, why not go down through Evansville, Kentucky and Missouri like I did when headed to Texas? It may be slower, but the people are friendlier and you can carry all the way.

 

[WIZZO499]

So what constitutes "Unloaded" in IL? A cleared chamber and magazine out of gun.

That's it.

 

[sloughfoot]

I am, again, traveling from northern Indiana to Minnesota to shoot in a rifle match. (and to visit family) I travel, like I always do, on Harley Davidson's finest machine, a 1999 Classic. It is pushing 75,000 miles.

However shall I carry my AR spacegun match rifle right down through the "loop" on my way to Wisconsin? Not to mention the one or two handguns in the general vicinity of me.

Oh well, I guess I won't worry about it too much, since I have absolutely no criminal intent. I am just a citizen traveling freely around this great country of ours without having to stop at checkpoints to prove I am a citizen with certain "inalienable rights".

Do I recommend it for everyone? NO. But it fits my free and somewhat rebellious spirit.

Maybe my next post will be from the Cook county lockup. Who knows?

Take care. Regards....

 

[mk2ja]

I realize this thread is a little bit old, but I wanted to add this reference to the FFTS.

People who will be transporting firearms from one state where they may legally possess and transport the firearms to another, but will pass through a state that does not permit them to own/carry, are covered by USC TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 44, § 926A, often called the Federal Firearms Transportation Statute (FFTS).

In short, the FFTS states that your firearms must be unloaded and stored in a separate compartment not readily accessible by either the driver or passengers, and ammunition must be kept separate from the location of the firearms and must also not be readily accessible by either the driver or passengers.
Source: United States Code: Title 18,926A. Interstate transportation of firearms | LII / Legal Information Institute

While IANAL and TINLA, I did use this information to help plan a trip recently that took me through two states that did not honor my Indiana LTCH.



PS - This site may also be helpful:
Carry Concealed - Pack-n-Go Travel Planner

 

[WIZZO499]

Illinois does not regulate where loaded magazines are in relation to the gun, just that they can't be in the gun.

Otherwise, put the gun(s) in the trunk without the loaded mags in them, and drive on through.