Chicago judge rules statute barring felons from having guns unconstitutional under Bruen decision

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago judge recently ruled, in the case of a felon convicted multiple times, that the statute barring felons from possessing handguns is unconstitutional.

The federal case was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman earlier this month. The felon was facing a mandatory minimum 15 year sentence if convicted of being in possession of a firearm.

Bill Kushner, ABC7's police affairs consultant, called the ruling a letdown and said it ignores a decades-long practice.

"The federal law prohibiting possession of firearms by convicted felons goes back to the 1930s and in 1961 it was broadened for a blanket lifetime ban on firearm possessions for all convicted felons," he said. "The carjackings, the shootings, these are not just demonized youth, these are people that feel that they have a free hand to do whatever they want without fear of repercussions."

The judge's ruling cites the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. vs. Bruen. In his ruling, Gettleman said Bruen requires courts to inquire as to whether a statue "imposes a 'comparable burden' on the right to bear arms as define by the Second Amendment, as well as a "distinctly similar" or "relevantly similar" historical analogue from the founding era.

The judge concluded the law "imposes a far greater burden on the right to keep and bear arms than the historical categorical exclusions from the people's Second Amendment right. The government has not demonstrated why the modern ubiquity of gun violence, and the heightened lethality of today's firearm technology compared to the Founding, justify a different result."

The ruling goes beyond even the Illinois State Rifle Association. A stanch defender of the Second Amendment, even the ISRA believe there are exceptions to those rights.

"I'm opposed to criminals who have been charged with violent crimes and convicted of those violent crimes from getting a handgun or an FOID card or concealed carry permit of any kind," said Richard Pearson, executive director of ISRA.

The potential consequences of the case are significant, especially in Chicago where there are a huge number of "felon-in-possession" cases.

"If these statutes are struck down both at the federal level, and then obviously, they wouldn't be struck down at the state level, what you're going to see is you're going to see another uptick in crime," Kushner said.

The U.S. Attorney's office filed an appeal immediately after the ruling, which will be heard by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.