Chicago’s Ban on Gun Ranges is in Legal Crosshairs
Posted by John Kullman on August 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment
When FirearmsTruth reported on the recent Supreme Court ruling that Chicago’s firearms restrictions violated the 2nd Amendment, we reported that the city would attempt to get around this in various ways. Chicago recently passed an ordinance that bans all shooting galleries and firearm ranges within the city limits. To combat this draconian law the Utah company Action Target Inc. filed a friend of the court brief, joining the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association in a federal lawsuit against Chicago.
Action Target manufactures products used at gun ranges. According to its brief, the company recently built a number of ranges in the city and was bidding to retrofit gun ranges operated by the Customs and Border Protection Service and the Federal Air Marshals.
“We believe that citizens have a constitutional right to use and train with firearms in a safe and controlled environment,” Randy Graham, Action Target vice president, said in a news release.
Action Target’s lawyers make a compelling case for allowing city gun ranges.
“It is quite obviously better for potential gun owners and, in the interest of public safety, that prospective gun buyers experience a variety of guns or at least those guns they are considering, before actually making their purchases. And many people are introduced to shooting and gun ownership by visiting a range prior to deciding to purchase a gun.”
Chicago Mayor Daley and the city council are fighting a rearguard action by placing obstacles in the way of citizens who want to exercise their 2nd Amendment Right. It is costing the City of Chicago a large amount of taxpayer’s money to fight its unreasonable restrictions on firearm ownership. It’s unreasonable to think that gang members and other criminals are going to go to the range to learn how to safely operate firearms. Lawyers are going to make out like bandits fighting and defending Chicago’s law, while leaving the public undefended from the criminal bandits.
