SAF Seeks Supreme Court Review in Public Transit Carry Ban

The Second Amendment Foundation and its partners have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review in Schoenthal v. Raoul.

BELLEVUE, WA, UNITED STATES, October 31, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review in Schoenthal v. Raoul (No: 24-2643), SAF’s challenge to the public transit carry ban in Illinois.

Originally filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 2022, the SAF-supported lawsuit challenges Illinois’ ban on carrying firearms on public transit. The state requires residents to obtain a Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID) and a concealed carry license to lawfully carry a firearm in public. Even with both the FOID card and a carry license, however, Illinois bans carrying a firearm on “…any bus, train, or form of transportation paid for in whole or in part with public funds, and any building, real property, and parking area under the control of a public transportation facility paid for in whole or in part with public funds.”

“There simply is no historical support for the idea that all modes of public transit are ‘sensitive places’ where carry can be banned,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Lower courts have struggled with understanding what a ‘sensitive place’ actually is and how limited their scope must be under the Second Amendment. This case is a great opportunity for the Court to clarify the proper unifying principle and correct the circuit courts that have gone astray.”

The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of SAF and its partners in the case, agreeing that the public transit carry ban was unconstitutional. The state appealed, however, and the Seventh Circuit overturned the ruling, finding the ban was indeed constitutional. SAF is joined in the case by the Firearms Policy Coalition and three private citizens.

“As we’ve all regrettably seen on the evening news recently, traveling on public transit can be extremely dangerous,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The problem lies not with the law-abiding gun owner who wants to carry a firearm for self-defense. Rather, the problem is leaving people with no means of protecting themselves against those who prey on people in a target-rich environment. Disarming regular citizens only further disadvantages the assaulted while having no bearing on their assaulters.”

Matt Coffey
Second Amendment Foundation
mcoffey@saf.org
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
X

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.