Mayor Richard Daley says the city will rewrite its gun ban ordinance because a Supreme Court ruling today has made the current law "unenforceable."
Daley said a new ordinance would be drafted soon and would protect the residents of Chicago as well as 2nd Amendment rights.
"I'm disappointed by the decision, but it's not surprising," Daley said at a news conference. "We're still reviewing the entire decision, but it means that Chicago's current handgun ban is unenforceable, so we're working to rewrite our ordinance in a reasonable and responsible way to protect 2nd Amendment rights and protect Chicagoans from gun violence."
The mayor made the announcement hours after the Supreme Court said Americans nationwide have a constitutional right to have a handgun at home for self-defense, even in cities which until now have outlawed handguns.
The 5-4 decision reversed a ruling that had upheld Chicago's ban on handguns and all but declared the 1982 ordinance unconstitutional. The justices sent the case back to Chicago for a lower court to issue the final decision, so the city's ban remains in effect for now.
Daley had no details how the city's ban would be revised. City Hall has been drawing up plans since the justices heard arguments in the case in early March and appeared to indicate they would rule against the city.
In an interview with the Tribune, the mayor said his primary goal would be to protect police officers, paramedics and emergency workers from being shot when responding to an incident at a home. He said he also wants to save taxpayers from the financial cost of lawsuits if police shoot someone in the house because the officer felt threatened.
While today's ruling extends the reach of the 2nd Amendment, the justices said it does not rule out regulation of handguns.
"Despite doomsday proclamations," Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said, extending the reach of the 2nd Amendment "does not imperil every law regulating firearms."
He repeated earlier assurances that "reasonable regulations" of firearms will be upheld, including restrictions on gun possession by felons and the mentally ill and bans on guns in schools and government buildings.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas joined to form the majority.
An attorney involved in the case advised against Chicagoans running out and purchasing handguns until a lower court rules on the matter later this summer.
"Obviously I'm elated by the court's decision," said attorney David Sigale. "(But) I think it would be prudent to wait."
Sigale said he expects the U.S. District Court to take up the case again in the coming weeks and issue the city directives on the handgun ban and a number of specific ordinances regarding re-registration and pre-registration.
Wayne LaPierre, chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association, said he was concerned that the "constitutional victory" of today's ruling will be "turned into a practical defeat by defiant city councils and cynical politicians who seek to nullify or revise this decision through a byzantine labyrinth of regulations and restrictions" to make handgun ownership "unaffordable and inaccessible."
Addressing Daley, LaPierre said: "He's saying, 'I don't care if it's a constitutional right.' The opinion of Mayor Daley doesn't entitle him to throw out the Bill of Rights."
LaPierre, anticipating Daley will protest the high court's ruling, continued, "Can you imagine if he did this with a case about speech, about religion or the right to vote?"
But as LaPierre celebrated victory, Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told reporters that despite the ruling, the court had decided that "reasonable restrictions" to the Second Amendment still are allowed.
He said the court's ruling, while not a surprise, left a "very narrow" definition of a person's Second Amendment rights by saying right lets a person keeps a gun in a home for self-defense.
He added that he expects criminals convicted of gun charges to challenge their convictions in light of the case.
The Brady Campaign is named for James Brady, press secretary for Ronald Reagan who was seriously injured by gunfire during the assassination attempt against the president.
During his news conference, Daley said he was miffed at a part of the opinion suggesting Chicago isn't doing enough to address violent crime.
"They don't seem to appreciate the full scope of gun violence in America," he said.
In the majority opinion, written by Alito, the court noted a recent call by two state legislators to deploy National Guard troops to quell the violence on Chicago's streets.
"The legislators noted that the number of Chicago homicide victims during the current year equaled the number of American soldiers killed during that same period in Afghanistan and Iraq," the opinion stated.
"If (the) safety of . . . 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 high-crime areas whose needs are not being met by elected public officials."
The call for Gov. Pat Quinn to deploy the National Guard was made by Democratic state Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford and was quickly rejected by Daley.
Today's ruling follows a decision two years ago in which the court for the first time declared that the 2nd Amendment protects the rights of individuals. The amendment says, "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
In earlier rulings, the court had suggested this amendment mostly concerned states and militias.
In District of Columbia v. Heller, the court struck down a hand gun ban in Washington, D.C. and said the 2nd Amendment protects a right to have a hand gun for self defense. But, since the District is a federal city and not a state, the court did not decide then whether the 2nd Amendment could be used to challenge municipal ordinances or state laws.
In the 19th Century, the court limited the reach of the Bill of Rights and said it put limits only on the federal government. Most parts of the Bill of Rights -- such as the freedom of speech or the right against "unreasonable searches -- were extended to states and localities in the middle of the 20th Century.
Today's decision in McDonald v. Chicago does the same for the 2nd Amendment.
Otis McDonald, one of the people who sued Chicago over the gun ban, left the Supreme Court today and exclaimed, "I am so happy. I am so happy."
McDonald, 76, opened his remarks by thanking Jesus Christ, then his attorneys, then his fellow plaintiffs and finally "all the wonderful people all across America who have been supportive of the 2nd Amendment and our right to defend ourselves."
He also thanked the justices "for having the courage to right a wrong, which has impacted many lives long ago and that will protect lives for many years to come."
When asked by a reporter what type of handgun he would buy, he did not miss a beat. "I don't have no preference right now. I can use all of them," he said.
Another person who sued the city, Colleen Lawson, said she was confident the ban would be struck down. "It's like in the Wild West... there's a higher court," she said. "The higher court is the constitution of the United States."
-- David Savage, Katherine Skiba, Cynthia Dizikes
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/06/united-states-supreme-court-scotus-gun-control-rifle-ban-chicago-police-mayor-richard-daley-nra-second-2nd-amendment.htmlcomments at link
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