(GunReports.com) — A federal judge has ruled a part of Chicago’s gun ordinance unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang found that banning the sale of guns by licensed dealers in the city was not legal.
Chang said Monday that while the government has a duty to protect its citizens, it’s also obligated to protect constitutional rights, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. The ruling also would make it legal for individuals to transfer ownership of a firearm as a gift or through a private sale as long as the recipient was at least 18 and had a firearm owner’s identification card.
“Today’s ruling is a vindication of the constitutional freedoms of Chicago’s law-abiding citizens,” said Chris W. Cox, Executive Director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action in a released statement. “Chicago’s continued refusal to follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s clear directive in its landmark ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago is unacceptable, and the NRA will continue to challenge the city until it fully respects the right of its law-abiding residents to keep and bear arms.”
Chicago, the last city to allow residents to have handguns in their homes, once had one of the strongest handgun bans in the country. The was ruled unconstitutional after the two Supreme Court judgments.
Chicago gun collector Kenneth Pacholski, one of the plaintiffs, said he has no interest in selling guns and buys only antique guns that he intends to keep. But he said Chicago’s ban was unreasonable.
Overturning the ban on retail gun stores and private gun sales was another part of a hard-fought battle to dismantle Chicago’s tough firearm prohibitions.
The latest court ruling in the long legal fight came one day after Illinois, the last state to approve a concealed carry law, began accepting applications from residents who want to carry concealed firearms in public.
But gun shops won’t likely be showing up in Chicago any time soon, since Chang delayed his ruling from taking effect to allow the city time to appeal.
