McDonald vs Chicago

Essay by riah98High School, 11th gradeA, November 2014

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Mariah Goodwin

2nd Hour Civics

Final Draft

10/30/14

McDonald v Chicago

The Bill of Rights is known by basically every American citizen who has passed the 8th grade, and usually, is known even before that. They understand the rights that the Bill of Rights grants them. They understand their freedoms, and one of the most important rights, the 2nd Amendment: the right to bear arms. Recently, over the past century or so, there's been tons of controversy over gun laws, and whether or not there should be more/less laws prohibiting certain gun rights of the American people. Many cities have made different types of restrictions and/or bans on certain guns and/or where those guns are allowed. Chicago and Oak Park are just two of the many cities that are doing so. Because these two cities are doing this, a lawsuit was brought against them, for a charge under restriction of the right to bear arms.

Otis McDonald, being a 76 year old man, was a retired maintenance engineer who lived in the Morgan Park area since 1971, after buying a house. He claims that his neighborhood was declining and that many gangs /drug dealers were there and that the violence was rising. He also "says his house has been broken into three times and his garage twice (Tanaka)." McDonald was an excellent hunter, and therefore he legally owned two shotguns, however he didn't think they would be fit if there was a robbery, and wanted to buy a handgun to use in his home, purely for self-defense. Conversely Chicago required that all firearms in the city be registered, but refused all handgun registrations after 1982. In 1982 a handgun ban was passed and therefore McDonald was not able to legally own a handgun. "As a result, in 2008, he joined...