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Citizens file suit against Chicago gun control ordinance

By Sarah Miley

[JURIST] A group of Chicago citizens on Tuesday filed suit [complaint, PDF] against the city and Mayor Richard Daly [official website] claiming the the city's new gun control ordinance infringes on their constitutional rights. The new ordinance bans gun shops in Chicago and prohibits gun owners from stepping outside their homes, including porches and garages, with a handgun. The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [official website], states that the ordinance violates the gunowners' Second Amendment [text] right to bear arms and should therefore be considered "null and void." The lawsuit is supported by both the National Rifle Association and the National Association of Firearm Retailers [advocacy websites]. The ordinance, scheduled to take effect July 12, was unanimously approved [JURIST report] by the Chicago City Council [official website] on Friday, four days after the US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] in McDonald v. Chicago [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report] that the Second Amendment applies to states and municipalities as well as the federal government.

The court's ruling in McDonald cited the holding in District of Columbia v. Heller [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] where the court held that the Second Amendment protects the right to possess a handgun in the home for the purpose of self-defense. The District of Columbia enacted a new series of firearm regulations following the court's ruling in Heller. The regulations were recently upheld [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] by a federal judge who cited Heller, holding that the Second Amendment does not prohibit regulation of firearms where that regulation will "effectuate the goal of promoting public safety."

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 07, 2010 (boomark / email).