Gun rights advocates, with the backing of the National Rifle Association, are pursuing several lawsuits in Illinois aimed at overturning restrictive handgun laws, according to the
Chicago Tribune.
At least nine well-financed lawsuits are targeting Chicago, Cook County, and other state jurisdictions, despite a gun ordinance passed two years ago that allowed Chicago residents to have guns in their homes, the Tribune reported on Thursday.
Gun rights supporters contend that some provisions of the law are unconstitutional, and they are seeking to overturn a ban that still exists in the city on retail gun stores. They also want to remove restrictions that forbid gun owners from taking their weapons into their yards or even on their front porches.
One reason that Illinois has become “one of the NRA’s fiercest battlegrounds” over Second Amendment rights is that it is one of the last states to prohibit licensed gun owners from carrying in public, the Tribune reported.
At least two lawsuits have been filed in federal court in an effort to overturn the Illinois ban. Meanwhile, attempts by pro-gun lawmakers to pass a concealed carry law have failed.
Michael Moore, one of the lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the state, maintains that the Illinois gun laws give an unfair advantage to criminals.
”I don't care what laws you pass, criminals are not going to give up their guns. They will keep their guns and use them against people like me,” Moore, a retired Cook County Jail superintendent, told the newspaper. “The Legislature seems to be determined to allow them to do that.”
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