Chicago's firearm ordinance took another blow Tuesday when a federal judge ruled that the section banning permits for people convicted of unlawful use of a weapon is vague and unconstitutional.

The city must now decide whether to appeal the ruling or rewrite the part of its gun ordinance that bars individuals convicted of even misdemeanor offenses from possessing a firearm in their home for self-defense.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Shawn Gowder, who claimed his constitutional right to bear arms was violated when he was denied a firearm permit two years ago because of a misdemeanor conviction for possessing a gun on a public street.

The lawsuit, backed by the National Rifle Association, is one of at least five cases pending against the city's gun ordinance, which was passed in 2010 just days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the city's 28-year ban on handguns. The Illinois State Rifle Association also filed a brief in support of Gowder.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan addresses only a part of the ordinance that relates to applicants who have been convicted of unlawful use of a firearm. Federal lawsuits are still seeking to overturn the city's ban on retail gun stores and to remove restrictions forbidding guns from yards and on front porches.

City officials said they are reviewing the ruling and will advise police on how to proceed with enforcing the law. Since it applies only to one provision of the ordinance, a City Hall official said, city attorneys do not believe the ruling will have a significant impact on the entire ordinance.

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Editor's Note: So, essentially, handguns and, in fact, most types of firearms, have been almost impossible to purchase if you are a law-abiding, non-criminal person in the City of Chicago. This has been the case for decades. Yet weekend after weekend we hear stories about the horrific murder and gun violence statistics coming out of Chicago...all at the hands of criminals. If this isn't proof positive that gun-restriction laws are an utter and complete failure -- and that when government outlaws guns only the criminal will have guns -- then the idiot Progressive Left is absolutely blind to all fact and reason.


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