As reported, there were a pair of armed robberies in Oak Park, IL this week, despite the handgun ban. One was a bank robbery, while the other was an armed robbery committed near a Green Line (train) station:
A pair of criminals entered the Charter One Bank, located at 6020 Roosevelt Rd around. One grabbed a female security guard by the arm and placed her in a choke hold. The other criminal, armed with a handgun, ordered a teller to hand over her cash. The two men then fled out the front door of the bank and escaped in a waiting vehicle.
An Oak Park man was followed home from the Austin Boulevard Green Line station and robbed at gun point. The man saw the robber sitting on a bus stop bench, but paid him no attention. The robber grabbed his victim by his backpack, demanded “everything,” then demanded his wallet. The robber escaped with the man’s wallet and cell phone.
By any measure, Oak Park’s handgun ban is a failure. It doesn’t prevent criminals from having a gun to commit armed robbery, shootings, or pistol whippings. Nor does it prevent those bent on committing suicide from having a gun. That is because those who are willing to commit violent crimes for which they could face years in jail won’t worry about a $1,000 to $2,000 fine for handgun possession. Nor will those who are intent on taking their own lives worry about such a fine. Instead, the handgun ban only deters law abiding people, who fear prosecution for defending themselves.