Within hours of the Supreme Court declaring that handgun ownership is a basic right, the city of Chicago was sued over their handgun ban. I’ve previously discussed why such handgun bans won’t work, and how criminals will just ignore the gun control laws. I’ve also discussed how rights such as gun ownership, free speech, and the right to a lawyer cannot be legislated away by a city, state, or federal government. That same reasoning applies here, and is not included in this article to avoid redundancy. Instead, I’ll address the comments by Mayor Daley and Chicago’s chief of police Jody Weis:
Chicago’s Mayor Daley (who has armed bodyguards for himself) reportedly stated
“We’ve shown time and time again how many children have been killed in their homes by guns,” he said. “Parents are away, they get the gun. Parents are away, the child takes the gun, runs out in the street and has an argument, comes back and shoots somebody.”
If the concern truly is children getting access to guns, then requiring that guns be stored in a safe and responsible manner could address that problem, without trampling the gun ownership rights of responsible and law abiding citizens. Also, if Chicago’s handgun ban worked, then why are there so many people who unlawfully have a handgun, and then leave it our where their children can get to it? I would draw the conclusion that banning guns won’t protect children and could even have the opposite effect.
Chicago’s chief of police Jody Weis then reportedly stated
“From a law enforcement perspective, this [the Supreme Court decision] will no doubt make a police officer’s job more challenging than it already is, particularly since a firearm is used in 75 percent of all murders committed in the city of Chicago.”
This statement by Mr. Weis seems to prove my point that Chicago’s handgun ban is ineffective. If 3/4 of Chicago’s murders are committed by with a gun (almost always a handgun), despite the handgun ban, then the ordinance doesn’t work. A person willing to commit murder isn’t going to worry about a misdemeanor gun possession charge. Perhaps instead of focusing on blaming and then banning guns, Chicago’s police department should address criminal behavior itself, and the conditions that cause crime.