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Chicago Magazine Article Sheds Light on Challenge to Handgun Ban
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Chicago resident Otis McDonald wants to take his safety into his own hands—he wants a handgun. But Chicago’s ban on handguns makes that illegal, at least for now. In February, McDonald and three other Chicago residents are expected to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to overturn Chicago’s handgun ban—one of the strictest laws of its kind in the country. Chicago Magazine senior editor Jennifer Tanaka has profiled the four plaintiffs taking on Chicago’s gun law. She joins us with more on her article, “In Their Sights: Behind the Challenge to Chicago’s 28-year-old Handgun Ban.”
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Shedrick Sanders, Auburn Park // Friday, December 18, 2009 @ 9:47 AM
No one seems to talk about how ineffective hand guns are in hitting and stopping a person. I was told at the Farmington, NM Citizen Police Academy that trained police only hit their 15% of the time with handgun. The chance of hitting the wrong person is much better than hitting the person being shot at. A shotgun is better for protecting the home.
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Alwin Roe, San Diego // Monday, December 28, 2009 @ 4:00 AM
http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/2007/12/police-hit-rates-on-shootings-as-low-as.html
Part of this may be due to the fact that many officers only practice shooting once or twice a year, all that is required by their agency to qualify to have a gun. Citizens, however, more often shoot better, as they are training on their own initiative and dime.
A shotgun can be a liability depending on the layout of the home, where a handgun can maneuver in tighter spaces. Both require shot placement (shotguns don't spread across a 90 degree angle), and assessment of what's behind the criminal.
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ScottM, Minneapolis // Monday, December 28, 2009 @ 7:43 AM
Shedrick as Alwin mentions the police don't practice much. As for the shotgun it's a great home defense weapon but a little unwieldy. Some people, paraplegics and grandmas come to mind, they may not be able to use a shotgun due to strength or recoil issues. Would you have them defenseless or reduced to using a baseball bat? A person should be allowed to choose her/his personal defense weapon as their needs and beliefs dictate. Government should have no say in that choice beyond denying those who have disqualified themselves from exercising their civil rights such as felons.
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Michael, New Jersey // Monday, December 28, 2009 @ 8:40 AM
Police are also shooting at longer ranges, often at fleeing targets. A civilian acting in self defense will be shooting at near-contact range, most likely at an advancing threat. The "handguns don't work anyway" meme is a particularly weak new tactic by anti-gun advocates. In reality, handguns have quite a few advantages for home defense, including ease of handling in tight spaces (like inside a house or apartment), ease of storage, and concealability, which is still a factor inside your home. When someone unexpectedly knocks on my door at one AM, a shotgun in the bedroom won't be much use against a push-in home invasion, but I don't exactly want to brandish a long arm at the poor pizza delivery guy who just had the wrong house.
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Brett, Seattle // Wednesday, December 30, 2009 @ 1:12 AM
Other commenters have also forgotten to mention that the vast majority of the time, merely brandishing a firearm is adequate deterrent for most criminals. Shots need not be fired for a firearm to be effective at stopping a criminal.
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Steve, North Park- City of Chicago // Friday, January 01, 2010 @ 4:49 PM
Is there something I can brandish to keep non-Chicagoans from commenting on this topic? This was not an unpopular law in the city and residents in other regions should find another venue to express their *fine ideas*.
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Dion, Central Kentucky // Sunday, January 03, 2010 @ 9:22 AM
Steve,
A bit like protectionisim don't you think?
I travel to Chicago on occasion and would like to be able to protect myself there.
The people that stared this country thought that being able to "keep and bear arms" thaought it was a "fine idea".
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