Under a federal appeals court ruling issued yesterday the state of Illinois would have to allow ordinary citizens to carry weapons, but the judges also gave lawmakers 180 days to put their own version of the law in place.

In a 2-1 decision that is a major victory for the National Rifle Association, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said the state's ban on carrying a weapon in public is unconstitutional.
The Illinois legislature will be forced to take up a statewide carry law this spring.

State Representative Bill Mitchell says that yesterday was big win for individual rights.

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Representative Adam Brown was also satisfied with the outcome of the decision and says the time has come to move forward.

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Currently Illinois is the only state in the nation not to have some form of conceal carry after Wisconsin recently approved law.