As we reported in the July 18, issue of the Grassroots Alert, in the wake of the Supreme Court's Heller decision -- and in an effort to avoid NRA's lawsuit against their city -- aldermen in the Chicago suburb of Evanston unanimously voted to amend the city's 27-year-old handgun ban.
The day after the Supreme Court ruled that laws requiring handguns in homes be disassembled and outfitted with trigger locks are incompatible with the gun rights accorded under the Second Amendment, NRA filed a lawsuit challenging gun bans in Evanston, Morton Grove, Oak Park, and Chicago. Evanston city council members subsequently authorized a resolution that would rewrite their city's ordinance to comply with the Supreme Court ruling--and avoid the NRA lawsuit.
This week, in a 7-1 vote, the Evanston City Council voted to change the law and allow handguns to be possessed in the home for self-defense. And, as mentioned, the specter of a protracted legal fight with NRA clearly weighed heavily in the City's decision.
"Quite honestly, we cannot afford to fight for principle at this point when the law is against us," said Alderman Steven J. Bernstein, Fourth Ward.
The suit seeks to strike down the City's 1982 ban on possession of any operative handgun.
The Evanston ordinance states that, "no person shall possess ... any handgun except when said handgun is kept at the residence ... for self-protection." Moreover, the owner must possess a current, valid Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card from the state.
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