The city of Chicago banned laser sights way back in 1999, and now, a U.S. district judge has finally ruled that the devices are not covered by the Second Amendment and the ban can stand.
Judge Charles Kocoras, a Jimmy Carter appointee, ruled July 22 that the sights are not arms protected by the 2nd Amendment.
In the decision, Kocoras wrote, “In sum, the undisputed facts show that ‘a firearm remains an effective weapon without a [laser sight] attached’ and thus a laser sight ‘is not a weapon protected by the Second Amendment. Rather, ‘it is merely an accessory which is unnecessary to the essential operation of a firearm.'”
Plaintiffs were Second Amendment Arms, Joseph Franzese, and Tony Kole, firearms owners and retailers who sought damages for a business they could not open because of a 2010 ordinance enacted by defendant City of Chicago, which was later declared unconstitutional. The plaintiffs also challenged the constitutionality of a separate ordinance that bans the sale or possession of laser sights in Chicago.
After four amended complaints and hundreds of separate filings, Kocoras’ ruling ended the retailers’ 14-year-old case.
In a 2020 court filing, lawyers for the city said that banning laser sights “advances important governmental interests by increasing the public’s sense of safety, given the numerous public reports of laser sights being used in mass shootings and gang violence.”
Referring to the Second Amendment, city lawyers have also said laser sights are “not necessary for the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia. Militias have existed for hundreds of years without laser sights. Even if laser sights are beneficial for self-defense, Chicagoans are left with ample other means for self-defense. They can still use conventional long guns and pistols.”
Read the entire decision below.
Todd, this should be appealed on the basis that improvements in aiming devices have not been restricted. The first being a rifle mounted telescope in Jan. 1776 by Charles Willson Peale.