Our right to at least own a handgun in our home is coming true. But not quite yet. The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the lower federal court for a new decision. So, until that happens, the law is technically still on the books.
You can still get prosecuted for the city ordinance but please weigh the punishment vs the 'crime.'
City ordinance
8-20-250 Violation – Penalty.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, where no other penalty is specifically provided, shall upon conviction for the first time, be fined not less than $300.00, nor more than $500.00; or be incarcerated for not less than ten days nor more than 90 days or both. Any subsequent conviction for a violation of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine of $500.00 and by incarceration for a term of not less than 90 days, nor more than six months.
We know incarceration scares a lot of people and we understand that. We would not want to be incarcerated either. However, if you are a law abiding citizen of the city of Chicago and you use your weapon to protect yourself and your family, wouldn't a small fine and a little jail time be worth the life of you and your family? Just a thought.
Continuing with those thoughts, we have never seen anyone get punished along the lines of this 'failure to register' law. The worst punishment we ever saw anyone get for violating this provision is the confiscation of the firearm. That is it. If that is the worst thing to happen to you in order to protect your family, is it really that bad?
Lastly, this law is truly dead, just not officially. Will the mayor keep wanting the law enforced? You betcha. Will the average police officer arrest you for it? Probably not, especially if you are not a gang banger or of ill criminal background. Will a judge find you guilty? Probably not because most of the judges are aware of the Supreme Court ruling and know that the prosecution of you would be a futile effort. You still may lose the gun until the law is officially destroyed.
Our disclaimer is that you may still get arrested and prosecuted for possessing a handgun in your home. Reality is that you are that much closer to protecting your family at least at home. True reality is that if you possessed that handgun at home today, you can start protecting your family today with, in our opinion, minimal risk.
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13 comments:
This whole hoopla over the gun ban is ridiculous. If you have had a legally obtained Firearms Owner Identification Card, you could legally own a firearm. You just could not register it in the city. Whoopdie doo. If you wanted a weapon for protection in your home, you could own one.
None of this will have an impact on the gang violence that occurs on the street. Never has, never will. Having a gun in your will provide two things ... 1.personal security. 2. an opportunity for additional firepower for the street gangs. How may you ask will that happen? Ex. You buy a gun .. Tell your friends that you bought one so you can feel "safe." The neighborhood junkie hears about it through the grapevine and needs to get somthing that will get him some dope. Breaks into your house when you are not home. Steals your gun. Gives it to Mr. Dopedealer for a couple of "jabs" )slang for about 20 bags of heroin or crack and he gets "High High." Think it does not happen that way, then you need to wake up. Some years back the Insane Popes had an initiation. Break into a cops house and get his gun and you were in the gang. It happens all the time. The answer is to attack the street gangs and the dope dealers. This will not happen because through all the lip service that the politicians serve up, they are not the least bit interested in stopping the violence. The Mayor has lost his focus. His wife is ill and that should be his focus. Resign and spend quality time with her. She is in my prayers. We need a leader, it begins in the schools, win the hearts and minds of the school children and you can change society. It can be done. End busing. Make the kids gom to school year round. I know the teachers don't like to hear that, but too bad. Make summer vaction incentive based. You suceed say with a "C" average and kids enjoy the summer. You don't, then summer school for the classes you need help in. By ending busing you keep the kids in their neighborhood and minimize the rival gang interaction. It will not happen overnight but it can happen. The schools and parks are the key. You have to open the doors and make it happen. Publicize the gang arrests. Put them on TV, show their faces. Put them on front street. Subject them to the public ridicule that will make the borderline gang members fall off the fence. We need to wake up, but no one will take charge. And know what your kids are doing and with who. Heart wrenching story in todays Sun Times about heroin and its abuses. I know John Roberts and he is a good man. I can only imagine his pain. Just remember, it can happen to you.
WOOOHOOO!! going to get my pic taken today and apply for FOID.
Just the other day I posted a comment saying this was coming soon. I'm glad to see it come to fruition! Of course, be on the lookout for more onerous rules. Expect to not be allowed to own most pistols. Probably a 5-shot revolver will be the only thing allowed to be registered. Hopefully the whole registration business will go out the window along with any fees.
You shouldn't have to pay a fee to exercise a right, the poll tax was unconstitutional and I think a firearm registration tax will be too.
Let's hope for the best in the future!
fuck you shortshanks!long live the 2nd amendment,because without it the others would't last.
To Village Voice:
You are right on the money!
People have a right to have a gun to protect themselves.
I like your thinking.
imposing a tax or insurance policy fee in order to posess a gun in Crook-a-go is infringing on my 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms, and a violation of my Constitutional Rights.. How about we have a tax and demand that crooked Politicians have to have an extra liaability policy to practice politics in Shitcago, Daley? And how about YOU have to pay it, Daley...nd how about you pay for all these costs to crate these stupid unconstitutional ordinances of yours Daley? Yeah, YOU pay out of your own cheap-ass pockets with YOUR OWN MONEY,AND WASTE YOUR OWN THIEVED MONEY, NOT OURS, DALEY, Olympic Loser boy-child..
I thought that you could legally purchase and keep a rifle or shotgun in your home if you had a valid FOID Card, but that the "gun ban" would not allow you to LEGALLY own a "handgun" in Chicago.
Which is it?
To answer Jimmy Mc. You could purchase and own a handgun in the the state of Illinois. You could not register it in the City of Chicago unless you were grandfathered in prior to the handgun law going into place. Example: If you wanted to practice shooting and lived in the City then you would have to transport the weapon / unloaded I believe in the trunk of your vehicle to the gun range. The handgun ban was a joke.
Gotcha. But if an incident occurred inside the city limits with an unregistered "handgun" in your home, (e.g., shooting a home invader or something) would that still be a felony if you purchased it legally using your FOID Card in an Illinois suburb or out-of-state?
And if so, would that apply to an unregistered "long gun," too?
Gotcha. But if an incident occurred inside the city limits with an unregistered "handgun" in your home, (e.g., shooting a home invader or something) would that still be a felony if you purchased it legally using your FOID Card in an Illinois suburb or out-of-state?
And if so, would that apply to an unregistered "long gun," too?
June 29, 2010 12:44 PM
Negative - as long as you have an FOID card it would be an Ordinance violation .. payable by fine ... if they even decide to charge you ...
Jim McMahon: as long as you have a lawfully purchased handgun and an Illinois FOID Card, you can now legally have the handgun in Chicago. The City Ordinance is Un-Constitutional, in its entirety. You must however, follow all State of Illinois Firearms laws.
Thanks for the info.
Not if you are white. If you end up in Cook County Jail you will be racist for the rest of your life.
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