It is not uncommon for people to use guns to defend against aggressive dogs. In this case, it was the owner who shot the dog, so there are few legal complications. What is interesting is that only a little over a year ago, the possession of the gun in Chicago would likely have been illegal. From cbslocal :
The 26-year-old man was in lawful possession of the weapon and will not face charges, according to police.
All handguns had to be registered in Chicago, and if the registration lapsed on handguns, you were not allowed to re-register them. A Chicago alderman who was in the power hierarchy forgot to register his guns, and had to pass a special bill to allow him (and perhaps a few others) to re-register them.
But that went away with the Supreme Court decision in McDonald and with subsequent Seventh Circuit rulings. The Illinois legislature overruled Chicago, and in the process, the Chicago registration requirement was abolished.
That happened in September of 2013, a little over a year ago. At that point, only 8,000 people had legally registered guns in Chicago, out of a population of 2.7 million. That is not just handguns. The 8,000 figure is for all guns. It is highly unlikely that the 26 year old resident of the South side would have been one of them.
In the bad old days before the gun law reform, it is likely that the young man would have had his firearm confiscated, and have been charged with a crime. Chicago Police confiscated 7,400 guns in 2012, nearly as many as there were registered owners.
There are many more infringements on second amendment rights that need to be eliminated. Progress is slower than many would like. But for this young man in Chicago, the Constitution made a difference.
©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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