Judge: Chicago's gun sales ban unconstitutional

by Chad D. Baus

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a federal judge has overturned Chicago's ban on the sale and transfer of firearms, ruling that the city's ordinances aimed at reducing gun violence are unconstitutional.

From the article:

U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang said in his ruling that while the government has a duty to protect its citizens, it is also obligated to protect constitutional rights, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.

However, Judge Chang said he would temporarily stay the effects of his ruling, meaning the ordinances can stand while the city decides whether to appeal.

The article goes on to observe that the decision is just the latest to attack what were some of the toughest gun-control laws in the nation. In 2010, the WSJ notes, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Chicago's long-standing gun ban. And last year, Illinois legislators were forced by a federal appeals court to adopt a law allowing residents to carry concealed weapons in Illinois, the only state that still banned the practice.

Again, from the article:

National Rifle Association lobbyist Todd Vandermyde applauded Judge Chang's decision, saying the fact a federal judge appointed by President Barack Obama "ruled in favor of the Second Amendment, shows how out of step and outrageous Chicago's ordinances really are."

Roderick Drew, a spokesman for Chicago's law department, said Mayor Rahm Emanuel disagrees with Judge Chang's decision and has instructed the city's lawyer to consider options to regulate gun sales.

"Every year Chicago police recover more illegal guns than officers in any city in the country, a factor of lax federal laws as well as lax laws in Illinois and surrounding states related to straw purchasing and the transfer of guns," Mr. Drew said. "We need stronger gun safety laws, not increased access to firearms within the city."

Judge Chang's ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers and three Chicago residents. The judge noted Chicago's ban covers not only federally-licensed firearms dealers, but also gifts among family members, all in the name of reducing gun violence.

Judge Chang wrote that the nation's third-largest city "goes too far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers from engaging in lawful acquisitions and lawful sales of firearms, and at the same time the evidence doesn't support that the complete ban sufficiently furthers the purposes that the ordinance tries to serve."

The article notes that Chicago last year had more homicides than any city in the nation - proof positive that the gun control laws have completely failed in their stated goal of disarming criminals, and have instead only created a city full of defenseless victims.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, and BFA PAC Vice Chairman.