BELLEVUE, WA – Yet another high-profile shooting this morning of a criminal by an armed Chicago homeowner further reinforces the Second Amendment Foundation’s justification for its lawsuit to overturn the city’s handgun ban.
SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb said the early-morning shooting in the city’s South Austin neighborhood involved a fleeing felon who had run from police with a large volume of narcotics, and crashed through the window of the gun owner’s home. The unidentified armed citizen reportedly has a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“This is the second time in a week that an armed private citizen has fired in self-defense against a criminal who was storming into his residence,” Gottlieb noted. “Today’s incident only amplifies our justification for our lawsuit to strike down Chicago’s insidious handgun ban.”
The wounded suspect was identified as Aaron Marshall, whose criminal history includes felony convictions on drug and weapons charges.
“Our lawsuit against the city was brought because people like Marshall roam the streets and neighborhoods of Chicago, and citizens are essentially defenseless unless they violate the handgun ban,” Gottlieb stated. “Police cannot be everywhere all of the time, and the policies of Mayor Richard Daley and his administration have done less than nothing to make citizens safe from these thugs. Chicago residents should have the same right of self-defense as any other American citizen, but they need the right tools for the job.
“The homeowner in this morning’s incident, just like the 80-year-old Korean War veteran who fatally shot another thug last week, did the city a favor,” he said, “and he apparently will not be charged, thanks to a state law that protects such people, even where handguns are banned.
“Armed citizens,” Gottlieb said, “are doing more to fight violent crime than Daley has done in his entire time in office.”