Guns (Chicago, Enfield, Lee: assault, firearms, identification)

[David Hammond]

If you google, Wilmette Hale DeMar, you can find a real life story about a man who successfully defended his children from a Shaq-sized intruder with a handgun (.38 Smith), even though the town had the ban.

Self-Defense vs.Municipal Gun Bans

When Hale DeMar shot an intruder in his house, he may well have saved his children's lives. So why was he charged with a crime?

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=36995

But DeMar blasted local officials in a letter published by the Chicago Sun-Times: "Until you are shocked by a piercing alarm in the middle of the night and met in your kitchen by a masked invader as your children shudder in their beds, until you confront that very real nightmare, please don't suggest that some village trustee knows better and he/she can effectively task the police to protect your family from the miscreants that this society has produced."

If you really feel the need for safety, I'd personally take protecting my family over getting charged and paying a fine.

[Drover]

If it makes you feel any better, DeMar's case inspired the passage of a "look the other way" law where a person who uses a firearm to thwart an invasion of their own home cannot be charged with violating municipal ordinance against possessing that particular firearm. (NOTE: if you were banned from possessing the weapon due to state law, such as a parole condition or prior felony conviction, you could still be held accountable to the state law).

The fact is most municpal police departments (especially CPD) and prosecutor's offices were already looking the other way anyway. What was already "the law on the streets" was simply made a law on the books so that idiotic irrational tightwad municipalities like Wilmette would be forced to get with the program.

[Humboldt1]

Should I just go out and buy a handgun legally in DuPage as my FOID card is issued there and my licenses are issued there along with property I own? Then I can have a handgun in my plqace for when someone breaks in. I would not do this in my current living arrangement with small children in my building. If I were to buy a single family or condo in the city I would look into this.

Based upon what Drover has said if I use the handgun in self defense I would not be prosecuted.

Or should I just wait unti the handgunis overturned? I don't really want to pay the registration fee as some do for long guns now.

[brinegar312]

WAIT! So you are saying that you can't own a gun in Chicago for self-protection (assuming you didn't file before this 1982 date)? Is that right?

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

You cannot own a handgun in Chicago unless you are law enforcement or possessed and had it registered before the law took in effect in around 1982. If they catch you, charges will be brought against you. If you use it for your own protection and shoot at someone they can charge you also.

You also need to get a Illinois FOID card if you want to buy ammo.

I dont agree with the handgun law myself.

[Humboldt1]

Brine,

You can legally own a long gun, rifle or shotgun so long as it is at least 18.5 inches long in Chicago. Handguns are not allowed unless you work in the security industry or for the police or government.

I don't agree with the handgun ban as it doesn't seem to deter the criminals for getting guns to rob innocent civilians who are less able to protect themselves.

[cyborg360]

Can one own a shotgun in the city of Chicago legally? (My google search was unfruitful). Links appreciated.

[Avengerfire]

Yes you can. Search this forum for guns and you will see the discussion.

[PokerPlayer1]

Yes.
There are some "assault weapons ban" type cosmetic requirements for autoloaders, but the short of it is, yes.

[Lookout Kid]

The assault weapons ban basically bans semi-automatic weapons that look cool.

[PokerPlayer1]

Yeah and even though it expired, the city still has remnants of it on the books at the city level
A pistol grip isn't nearly as "mean" as politicians seem to think it is.