As I’ve mentioned before, Oak Park, IL has a handgun ban, which its politicians like to believe renders the village “gun free.” However, as the crime reports for last week demonstrate, Oak Park is far from “gun free.” Instead, Oak Park’s handgun ban just ensures that the law abiding members of society are disarmed and vulnerable to the still-armed criminals:
- At about 7:45 PM March 30, 2010, a pair of criminals reportedly approached a woman and struck her in the back of the head with a handgun, while demanding money. A robber reportedly pistol whipped the woman again, after demanding her car keys. Apparently unable to start her car, the robbers fled on foot, and the woman was treated at local hospital for her injuries.
- A pair of robbers, who were armed with a handgun, reportedly entered Ino’s Restaurant on march 28. After brandishing their handgun, the robbers are said to have taken $800 from the cash register, and $300 from a bystander, before escaping.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve discussed Oak Park’s gun-related crime, which includes shootings, pistol whippings, carjackings, and armed robbery. In these crimes, criminals ignored the Oak Park handgun ban, and preyed upon Oak Park’s unarmed citizens. This failure of the handgun ban to deter criminals should come as no surprise, since by definition criminals don’t obey the law. Moreover, it just doesn’t make sense to think that a criminal who is willing to commit a serious felony such as armed robbery would fear the $1,000 to $2,000 fine (with no possibility of jail time) for violating the Oak Park handgun ban.
Instead of keeping Oak Park citizens safe from criminals, the handgun ban just ensures that the law abiding citizens are defenseless against criminals will either ignore the handgun ban, or who can just overpower and beat their defenseless victims. Indeed, it is only those who are willing to break the law and have a handgun in Oak Park that have had a high success rate at stopping violent attackers and stopping armed robbers. Sadly, such individuals then have to face the prospect of being prosecuted for defending themselves – a situation which truly represents a perversion of justice.
Hopefully, the Supreme Court will soon strike down the Oak Park handgun ban as unconstitutional, paving the way for Oak Park’s law abiding citizens to defend themselves against the violent criminals who plague their village.