In a surprising turn of events, a federal court in Illinois provided a rape victim with what she wanted most: the ability to have a gun in her public housing residence to protect herself in the future.
This constitutes a big win for Second Amendment gun rights advocates, as Senior Judge J. Phil Gilbert issued this permanent injunction on a gun ban put in place by the East St. Louis Housing Authority. The judge claimed that the ban violated both the Fourteenth and Second Amendments that allowed citizens to have a way to protect themselves from domestic violence and other assaults within their homes.
While introduced as a “lifetime” injunction on the gun ban, is that truly the case? Only time will tell, as there are expected to be challenges to this ruling — as there are to many pro-gun rulings. The judge in question cited District of Columbia v. Heller in his statement, as well as citing the 14th Amendment that lays out the rule around states not being allowed to have oppressive rules that deny individuals within the state the equal protection of the laws. Gun rights advocates hope that this will open up a new era of gun rights laws that help protect the innocent from assaults by criminals who are using force against other individuals.
The tightly-defined response from the judge does not overturn any of the laws that are in place for the common places around the housing authority or outside the units of residents. Those laws stay in effect, but also state that the residents will not be banned when they are using a gun for self-defense or the defense of others who are in a compromising situation.
Second Amendment Foundation founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb states: “This isn’t the first time we’ve had to challenge such a regulation. It is simply unacceptable for citizens living in public housing to be denied their basic right to have a firearm for personal protection, and in this case, it was unconscionable.”
While residents in public housing in Illinois may be celebrating this week, there is still a great deal of work to be done to assure that gun rights don’t continue to be degraded by liberal politicians. The threat against our ability to lawfully hold guns is real and continuing — and it is unlikely to change in the near future. It will take continued courage to find ways to protect our Second Amendment rights, but this is definitely a step in the right direction for Americans and the Constitution.
~ Firearm Daily
