The ruling Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court not only paves the way to lift Chicago’s handgun ban but could also create a snowball effect in the Black community, according to one city official.
The ruling Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court not only paves the way to lift Chicago’s handgun ban but could also create a snowball effect in the Black community, according to one city official. The High Court ruled that Americans have the right to own a gun for self-defense anywhere they live. By a 5-4 vote, the justices cast doubt on handgun bans in the Chicago area, but signaled that some limitations on the Constitution’s "right to keep and bear arms" could survive legal challenges. “What this does is give homeowners the constitutional right to kill someone. And while I support the Second Amendment, 100 percent my fear is that this ruling may result in more shootings,” Ronald Holt, director of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy program, told the Defender. Holt, who lost his 16 year-old son, Blair, to gun violence in 2007, was among a coalition of Black leaders who joined Rev. Jesse Jackson at a Monday news conference to discuss the Supreme Court decision. Jackson opposes lifting the ban and said by doing so it would encourage a new breed of businesses in the Black community. “The next step is gun shops opening up throughout minority communities. There will be gun shops opening up around schools, parks and churches just like there are liquor stores,” he said. “We (Blacks) are the market for guns even though we do not own any gun manufacturers.” He added that in the midst of summer Chicagoans should be on alert. “The escalating violence in Chicago is a painful reminder that we are in a state of emergency. Increased access to guns and the flow of drugs make our streets unsafe,” Jackson said. And while gun violence is a national problem, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-1st Dist., said Chicago is the epicenter of violence for America. “We are at a cross-roads in our community,” Rush said. “More youth are at risk of being shot, which is their number one fear.” One way to help solve the violence that occurs in the Black community is to assign more Black police officers to Black communities with high crime rates, said Rev. Paul Jakes, a community activist and pastor of Old St. Paul Baptist Church. “We need to hold the mayor accountable for not allocating resources effectively. A white community on the North Side with very little crime should not be receiving the same resources as other communities like Englewood or Roseland where crime is a bigger issue,” Jakes told the Defender. Mayor Richard M. Daley said at a Monday news conference that the city’s ordinance banning handguns would remain in effect until a federal appeals court invalidates it. Once that happens, he said the city may require those wanting to purchase a handgun to first take a training course, then register their firearms, allow police to perform ballistics tests, and possibly have gun owners purchase liability insurance. Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. wrote in Monday’s ruling that safety was a key issue in the Supreme Court making its ruling. “If, as petitioners believe, their safety and the safety of other law-abiding members of the community would be enhanced by the possession of handguns in the home for self-defense, then the Second Amendment right protects the rights of minorities and other residents of other high-crime areas whose needs are not being met by elected public officials,” Alito wrote. The Supreme Court ruling involving Chicago’s handgun ban follows a similar ruling it issued in 2008 when it struck down a handgun ban in Washington D.C. As a result, gun owners in the nation’s capital are now required to receive five hours of safety training, register their firearms every three years and face criminal background checks every six years. Additionally, gun owners there must allow police to perform ballistic tests and they must be fingerprinted. Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender
Photo Caption: Otis McDonald said he joined a federal lawsuit to challenge Chicago’s 28-year-old handgun ban because he wants a handgun at home to protect himself from gangs. The Supreme Court held Monday that the Constitution’s Second Amendment restrains government’s ability to significantly limit "the right to keep and bear arms," advancing a recent trend by the John Roberts-led bench to embrace gun rights. Monday’s decision did not explicitly strike down the Chicago area laws, ordering a federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling. But it left little doubt that they would eventually fall. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
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