FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
A Chicago law banning handguns and automatic weapons within city limits has been upheld. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a challenge by the National Rifle Association. This will probably set the stage for a Supreme Court battle over whether the Second Amendment's protections for gun owners extend to state and city laws.
Last year, the Supreme Court said the right to keep and bear arms protects an individual's right to have a gun for self-defense. Before then, many judges had said the amendment only protected the right of states to have a militia. At the time, the high court's ruling struck down a handgun ban in D.C. But the justices didn't say whether the same rules applied to the rest of the country.
Chicago's law, which has been in effect since 1982, allows ownership of rifles, but they must be registered every year with the police. Concealed weapons, semi-automatic and automatic weapons aren't allowed. There are some exceptions for members of the military and law enforcement agencies.
Gun rights advocates say the next step is an appeal to the Supreme Court, while the city of Chicago says it's prepared to defend its ordinance.
Meanwhile, the high court won't consider an appeal until the fall. By then, Sonia Sotomayor might be one of the justices considering the case. In January, she joined a three-judge panel in New York that came to the same conclusion as the Chicago case.
Here’s my question to you: Should cities like Chicago be allowed to ban handguns?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Steve from New York writes:
No, they should not. In Washington, DC - which did not allow handguns - the murder rate from handguns was the highest in the nation. The reason was that the victims could not protect themselves. It's always the criminals who disobey the law and get all the handguns they want, while the average citizen obeys the law and gets murdered.
Conor from Chicago writes:
The problem is illegal guns, not legal ones.
Ashante from Chicago writes:
As a resident of Chicago, I ask those gun rights advocates who are standing up for the NRA: what about all the kids we lost so far? Chicago leads the nation in children deaths due to violence. The NRA should be helping in this effort, not hindering. I applaud Mayor Daley continuing the fight for the residents of Chicago.
Christopher writes:
Jack, What a bad idea. I wonder if the gangs in Chicago are going to comply with this law?
Dennis from Columbus, Ohio writes:
Not unless there is a constitutional amendment that reverses or modifies the 2nd Amendment. Not that I am for or against banning handguns, but the law is the law. That said, I believe banning hand guns anywhere or everywhere will have little effect on crime. It is a fact that where concealed carry is legal, crime rate drops. Where guns are banned crime increases.
BJ from Columbus, Georgia writes:
No apology here, I'm an extremist I guess. I think every city should ban handguns!
Joe from Delray Beach, Florida writes:
Handguns and automatic rifles are absolutely needed within Chicago's city limits. How else can you shoot the deer which are tearing apart the city?