Will the Supreme Court Recognize the Truth About Chicago's Handgun Ban?

In the 2008 “Heller” decision, the Supreme Court struck down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban and gunlock requirements. Unsurprisingly, gun control advocates predicted disaster. They were wrong. What actually happened in our nation’s capital after the Heller decision ought to be remembered tomorrow as the Supreme Court hears a similar constitutional challenge to the Chicago handgun ban.

When the Heller case was decided, Washington’s Mayor Adrian Fenty warned: "More handguns in the District of Columbia will only lead to more handgun violence." Knowing that Chicago's gun laws would soon face a similar legal challenge, Mayor Richard Daley was particularly vocal. The day that the Heller decision was handed down, Daley said that he and other mayors across the country were "outraged" by the decision and he predicted more deaths along with Wild West-style shootouts. Daley warned that people "are going to take a gun and they are going to end their lives in a family dispute."

But Armageddon never arrived. Quite the contrary, murders in Washington plummeted by an astounding 25 percent in 2009, dropping from 186 murders in 2008 to 140. That translates to a murder rate that is now down to 23.5 per 100,000 people, Washinton’s lowest since 1967. While other cities have also fared well over the last year, D.C.'s drop was several times greater than that for other similar sized cities. According to preliminary estimates by the FBI, nationwide murders fell by a relatively more modest 10 percent last year and by about 8 percent in other similarly sized cities of half a million to one million people (D.C.'s population count is at about 590,000).

This shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has followed how crime rates change after gun bans have been imposed. Around the world, whenever guns are banned, murder rates rise. . . .

Posted: Monday, 01 March 2010 1:51PM

Daley: Optimistic city will prevail in gun case

CHICAGO (AP) - Mayor Richard Daley says he’s optimistic Chicago will prevail against what he calls the gun industry’s challenge to the city’s handgun laws.

He spoke at a news conference Monday, a day before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on the constitutionality of Chicago’s handgun ban.

Daley says cities and states should be able to decide how best to protect their citizens. He fears the case before the Supreme Court could cause needless legal challenges to other laws nationwide.

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis attended the same news conference.

He says his biggest concern if Chicago laws are struck down is the threat his officers could face every

http://www.wbbm780.com/Daley—Optimistic-city-will-prevail-in-gun-case/6470020

ALERT - Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in ISRA case
McDonald v Chicago

On March 2, 2010, the Supreme Court will hear arguments opposed to and in support of the Chicago handgun ban which has been in place since 1982. This case, McDonald v Chicago was filed by the Illinois State Rifle Association immediately following the landmark 2008 case Heller v DC. Currently 38 states, 305 US Senator and Representatives and over 700 state legislators, to name just a few, have filed briefs in support of the defendants. View all the available filings and briefs at ChicagoGunCase.com.

This case is expected to not only overturn the ban in Chicago but to finally provide incorporation of the Second Amendment to the states. To think that this will end Mayor Daley s attempts to maintain Chicago s draconian gun laws, however, would be to ignore his recent statements made at the US Conference of Mayors:

In the face of strong opposition from the NRA and other gun extremists, we will continue to advocate for the rights of cities to regulate guns and to coordinate efforts with other cities that share our position.

As soon as possible, the ISRA website will have links to the oral arguments. Those links will go out over Twitter as well as an additional email message.

The ISRA will continue to advocate for YOUR rights as firearm owners and citizens (which Mayor Daley considers extremist) but it does not have the support of taxpayer dollars or the Joyce Foundation. If you are an ISRA member, we need your continued support. Please make a donation on-line here, or over the phone at 815-635-3198. If you would like to mail or fax a donation, we have a printable form here. Even better would be to sign up friends and/or family members with gift memberships.

If you’re not an ISRA member, now is the time. You can join on-line, or over the phone at 815-635-3198. You can download a printable application form here.

Please post this alert to all internet blogs, bulletin and message boards to which you belong. Pass this alert on to your gun owning friends and fellow sporting club members. You can also join us on our FaceBook page along with hundreds of other fellow firearm enthusiasts.

http://isra.org/

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.