§134-9 Licenses to carry. (a) In an exceptional case, when an applicant shows reason to fear injury to the applicant's person or property, the chief of police of the appropriate county may grant a license to an applicant who is a citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one years or more or to a duly accredited official representative of a foreign nation of the age of twenty-one years or more to carry a pistol or revolver and ammunition therefor concealed on the person within the county where the license is granted. Where the urgency or the need has been sufficiently indicated, the respective chief of police may grant to an applicant of good moral character who is a citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one years or more, is engaged in the protection of life and property, and is not prohibited under section 134-7 from the ownership or possession of a firearm, a license to carry a pistol or revolver and ammunition therefor unconcealed on the person within the county where the license is granted. The chief of police of the appropriate county, or the chief's designated representative, shall perform an inquiry on an applicant by using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, to include a check of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement databases where the applicant is not a citizen of the United States, before any determination to grant a license is made. Unless renewed, the license shall expire one year from the date of issue.

(b) The chief of police of each county shall adopt procedures to require that any person granted a license to carry a concealed weapon on the person shall:

(1) Be qualified to use the firearm in a safe manner;

(2) Appear to be a suitable person to be so licensed;

(3) Not be prohibited under section 134-7 from the ownership or possession of a firearm; and

(4) Not have been adjudged insane or not appear to be mentally deranged.

(c) No person shall carry concealed or unconcealed on the person a pistol or revolver without being licensed to do so under this section or in compliance with sections 134-5(c) or 134-25.

(d) A fee of $10 shall be charged for each license and shall be deposited in the treasury of the county in which the license is granted. [L 1988, c 275, pt of §2; am L 1994, c 204, §8; am L 1997, c 254, §§2, 4; am L 2000, c 96, §1; am L 2002, c 79, §1; am L 2006, c 27, §3 and c 66, §3; am L 2007, c 9, §8]

Attorney General Opinions

An applicant for an unconcealed-carry license does not demonstrate "good moral character", as required by this section, where there is reliable and credible evidence that, if issued a license, the applicant may create a risk to public safety. Consequently, an application should be denied when the applicant exhibits specific and articulable indicia that the applicant poses a heightened risk to public safety. Att. Gen. Op. 18-1.

Applicants for an unconcealed-carry license must demonstrate a need to carry a firearm for protection that substantially exceeds the need possessed by ordinary law-abiding citizens. Att. Gen. Op. 18-1.

By its plain text, the legislative history, and applicable case law, this section does not limit unconcealed-carry licenses to private security officers and other individuals whose jobs entail the protection of life and property, but instead authorizes the issuance of those licenses to any qualified individual who demonstrates a sufficient "urgency" or "need" to carry a firearm and is "engaged in the protection of life and property". Att. Gen. Op. 18-1.

Chiefs of police may exercise reasonable discretion to deny licenses to otherwise-qualified applicants, but that discretion may not be exercised in an arbitrary or capricious manner. The discretion to deny unconcealed-carry licenses to qualified applicants should be exercised only where an applicant's characteristics or circumstances render the applicant unsuitable to carry an unconcealed firearm for reasons not captured by the express statutory requirements. Discretion may not be used to effectively nullify the authorization for unconcealed-carry licenses contained in this section or to impose categorical restrictions on unconcealed-carry licenses that the legislature did not enact. Att. Gen. Op. 18-1.

Case Notes

Appellate court held that this section's limitation on the open carry of firearms only to those "engaged in the protection of life and property" violated the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and, therefore, was void; under this section, the typical, law-abiding citizen in the State was entirely foreclosed from exercising the core Second Amendment right to bear arms for self-defense. 896 F.3d 1044 (2018).

Where plaintiff asserted that §§134-6 and 134-9 violated rights guaranteed by Article I and the Second, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, defendants' motions to dismiss plaintiff's complaint granted; among other things, plaintiff did not have standing to challenge this chapter on the basis of an alleged deprivation of Second Amendment or Ninth Amendment rights, this chapter is not an impermissible bill of attainder with respect to plaintiff, and this chapter imposes no impairment of a contractual right possessed by plaintiff. 548 F. Supp. 2d 1151.

Discussed: 911 F. Supp. 2d 972 (2012).

Mentioned: 74 H. 197, 840 P.2d 374.