Could Chicago gun law change have prevented Hudson murders? Some Illinoisans to vote on concealed carry
The news that actress Jennifer Hudson’s family was murdered with a stolen gun, while Chicago’s strict gun laws prohibited her family from legally possessing a gun that may have been used in their defense in their own home, brings the city’s gun laws into question once again.
Some of the strictest gun laws in the nation are found in Chicago, recently named the nation’s Murder Capital, and some of its neighboring suburbs. In Chicago, it is illegal to possess an unregistered weapon, even if kept in your own home. The catch is that city officials passed a ban on registering weapons some time ago so, in short, the only guns in Chicago outside of law enforcement are illegal guns, such as the one used in the Hudson-King murders.
This year voters in several Illinois counties will have an opportunity to express their points of view on whether citizens should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon. Citizens of Illinois and neighboring Wisconsin live in the only two states in the nation that do not allow concealed carry. The vote is advisory in nature, which means it will not change any laws but, rather, will alert our legislators to the voice of the people in those counties.
Voters in Cook County, which includes Chicago and many anti-gun suburbs, do not have the opportunity to cast a vote regarding this advisory referendum. We wonder why not, since Cook County is the most populous county in the state, and can only guess that the political influence of anti-gun Mayor Richard Daley may have been at work in keeping the referendum off the local ballots. After all, King Richard wouldn’t want proof that his constituents disagree with his anti-gun position, particularly while the Constitutionality of Chicago’s gun laws are in question.
In the 48 states that allow some form of concealed carry, the murder rate has dropped. In Dade County Florida, which includes Miami, the concealed-carry law went into effect more than two decades ago, in 1987. Initially, Dade County Police kept records of arrest and non-arrest incidents involving concealed carry licensees. After five years of tracking and only four crimes committed by licensed concealed-carry gun owners – none of which resulted in an injury – the tracking program was scrapped as there were not enough incidents to justify the resources needed to track them.
In the first decade of concealed carry in Florida, the firearm homicide rate dropped 37 percent, compared to a nationwide increase in firearm homicides of 15 percent. The handgun homicide rate in Florida dropped 41 percent while the nationwide rate increased 24 percent in that same time period.
To date in Chicago this year, more than 400 homicides have been reported and reports suggest the city’s murders will surpass the 500 mark before year-end. We can name at least three, including that of an innocent 7 year-old, Julian King, that may have been prevented if not for Chicago’s overly restrictive gun laws. If you live in any of the 14 Illinois counties whose citizens have the privilege to cast a vote on concealed carry Tuesday, we encourage you to let your views be counted.
If you have questions about current gun laws, or have been charged with a weapons violation, contact our firm for a legal consultation.
Categories: In the News, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Firearms Law
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11/19/2008 9:54 AM
The Law Blog - Joseph P McCaffery wrote:
Winnetka Village Council voted 6-0 Tuesday night to repeal the suburb's 20-year-old ban on possessing handguns, WBBM-780AM is reporting...
A lot of people write comments on the stories about the Hudson family and say how they should have moved out of that neighborhood. But what about the people of that neighborhood so desensitized to the sound of gunshots that nobody called the police -- and all illegal gunshots (since in Chicago all guns are illegal). Something has to change. If offenders know that a homeowner can have a gun to defend his or her family, they are less likely to try something like this. Daley doesn't want people voting about guns in Chicago because maybe they will realize there are enough voters to disagree with him to vote him out of his next term. Instead Daley is not filling the police vacancies so he can afford to host the Olympics. I'd say he's a joke but this isn't funny!
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Ironic how the ban went into affect on possessing a handgun in Chicago and all of a sudden we are the murder capital of the world, huh? I LEGALLY own a glock that I have to keep at my parents house because I can't even keep it in my home. I have a valid FOID card, I'm 25 years old, and have never even had a speeding ticket, therefore, that makes me a candidate to be killed in my own home and have my girlfriend also raped and killed before I get robbed because I am a good citizen. Love it. But if I was walking down the street and felt like robbing someone and thought maybe, just maybe, my prey might have a weapon on him, I would definitely think twice about robbing this person. But I guess Chicago would rather have to continue to clean up the mess by having to pay 100 different departments to take care of the guy that got shot and killed in his own house. Let's keep complaining that Chicago has no money while we pay detectives, investigators, coroners, jails, courts, etc., instead of actually making money for the city by charging a fee to good samaritans and hard working people to protect themselves and their families. Good idea!
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