SAF Lawsuit Allowed Chicago Uber Driver to Carry, Defend Self and Others

BELLEVUE, Wash., April 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A defensive shooting incident in Chicago involving a legally-armed Uber driver who intervened when a gunman opened fire on a crowd in Logan Square could not have happened without a concealed carry law that was passed by the Illinois Legislature because of a federal lawsuit brought by the Second Amendment Foundation.

No charges will be filed against the unidentified Uber driver, who used his licensed handgun to stop the alleged shooter, a 22-year-old man who now faces criminal prosecution. SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb noted that, had this armed citizen not been present, this incident could have turned out much differently, and much worse.

"This widely-reported incident could not have happened without our lawsuit in Moore v. Madigan, which forced Illinois to adopt a concealed carry statute allowing law-abiding citizens to be armed," Gottlieb said. "The concealed carry law our case demanded needs no further justification, based on the standard so often tossed out by gun control proponents to push restrictions. It has saved one life, and possibly more lives.

"When the suspect opened fire," he continued, "the Uber driver was able to defend himself and others by quickly drawing his revolver and wounding the gunman. Thanks to his quick action, nobody else was apparently hurt in this inexplicable incident, the kind of random violence for which Chicago has become notorious over the past several years.

"Our lawsuit was aimed at putting law-abiding citizens on equal footing with street thugs and dangerous nuts," Gottlieb said. "This case is a text book example of an armed citizen using his legally-carried defensive sidearm to protect his fellow citizens from violent attack.

"This is precisely the reason law-abiding citizens in Illinois fought so hard for concealed carry, and why we went to court to make that happen," he concluded. "While SAF deplores violence, we're delighted that our lawsuit made it possible for this armed man to stop a potentially deadly attack."

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms.  Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. 

SOURCE Second Amendment Foundation

Related Links

http://www.saf.org