Ezell v. City of Chicago, No. 10-3525 (7th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseFor nearly three decades, Chicago had ordinances effectively banning handgun possession by almost all private citizens. In 2008 the Supreme Court struck down a similar District of Columbia law . After Chicago's ban was found to be unconstitutional, the city enacted a Responsible Gun Owner's Ordinance that mandates one hour of range training as a prerequisite to lawful gun ownership, but prohibits all firing ranges in the city. The district court denied an injunction to prevent enforcement. The Seventh Circuit reversed, reasoning that the challenge has a strong likelihood of success on the merits, that the loss of Second Amendment rights cannot be remedied by an award of damages, and that the city's claim of harm to the public interest was based entirely on speculation. Harm to a constitutional right is not measured by the extent to which it can be exercised in another jurisdiction.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on July 12, 2011.
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