Attorneys working as public defenders in Peoria County, Illinois, argue that requiring a permit in order to carry a gun for self-defense outside the home is unconstitutional.
The Associated Press reports that the attorneys, Chandra Justice and Mark Rose, are making their arguments against permit requirements “in several cases in which defendants are charged with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.”
Justice and Rose note that their clients work in neighborhoods where safety is lacking, therefore they carry the guns as a necessary means to protect their lives. They claim that requiring a permit in order to carry a gun for self-defense “violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms.”
The Peoria Journal Star quotes Justice saying, “Stricter gun laws, or laws that don’t apply equally to every citizen, do not necessarily decrease crime or shootings. People will get their hands on guns, legally or not. It makes more sense to address gun violence as a social and economic issue, rather than tighter control.”
Rose added, “The rights to bear arms, free speech, voting and trial by jury, each are fundamental to our American identity, and the courts are required to articulate the meaning and extent of such rights, and how, under the equal protection and due process clauses, such rights should be available for exercise. It is in this context that we have felt it appropriate to ask the court for guidance on these issues as they relate to the Illinois statutes.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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