ISRA: Unfair Actions Against Firearm Retailers Prove Expensive To Municipalities

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Jul 05, 2014, 09:48 ET

CHICAGO, July 5, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

Municipalities planning to inhibit the lawful commerce in firearms, ammunition and accessories had better think twice in light of a ruling against the City of Chicago handed down by a federal judge last Thursday. In that ruling, the judge ordered Chicago to reimburse nearly $1 million in legal fees to plaintiffs in a lawsuit decided against the city in 2010. The case in question struck down the city's ban on the operation of gun shops and target ranges within city limits.

The judge's decision to award reimbursement of legal fees in the Chicago case comes just days before the Niles, Illinois Village Council will rule on whether to approve a proposal to establish and operate a gun shop and target range in the village's industrial area. The village zoning board had earlier approved the proposal but pressure from a New York City based gun control group caused the Village Council to reconsider the proposal. The full Niles Village Council will take the matter up on Monday, July 7^th.

"Bans on gun shops and ranges will prove to be expensive propositions for municipalities," said ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. "Gun control groups ride into town and bully public officials into passing unconstitutional ordinances then quickly leave town before the legal trouble begins. When the smoke clears, the municipality is left footing the bill and the gun controllers are nowhere to be seen."

"The Niles Village Council should ponder well Chicago's experience," continued Pearson. "Jeopardizing the village's bank balance so that some out-of-state gun control group can put a mark on the wall is not good public policy. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel could have patched a lot of potholes with the million bucks he has to pay out."

The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.

WEB SITE: http://www.isra.org

SOURCE Illinois State Rifle Association