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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Court Strikes Down Another Part of Chicago Gun Ordinance


Yet another part of Chicago's gun ordinance has fallen to a constitutional challenge, this time in Gowder v. City of Chicago.  In this case, plaintiffs challenged the provision in the ordinance that conditioned gun possession on having a permit and prohibited issuance of any permit to persons convicted of "unlawful use of a weapon." 

The Court found the City's ordinance void for vagueness because "unlawful use of a weapon" could mean different things in different jurisdictions.  While regulations prohibiting gun possession by felons and persons convicted of domestic violence crimes have been upheld, the Chicago ordinance violated the Second Amendment because it prohibited gun possession in the home, depriving even non-violent misdemeanants of a core Second Amendment right. 

In response, the City is expected to amend its gun ordinance to ban violent misdemeanants from getting a gun permit for five years, and violent felons from getting a gun permit for life. The City may also appeal this decision to the Seventh Circuit.

Post Authored by Dan Bolin, Ancel Glink.

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