Morton Grove considers repealing gun ban

Morton Grove, IL, instituted its infamous ban on handguns back in 1981. Now, in the wake of the Supreme Court's Heller ruling, the city is considering repealing its ban.

Morton Grove residents will be able to keep handguns at home under an ordinance being considered by the village board.

The measure, an amendment to the village's deadly weapons ordinance, would repeal Morton Grove's 27-year-old handgun ban.

Village officials say they need to lift the handgun ban in order to bring the village law into compliance with a recent U. S. Supreme Court decision that overturned a Washington, D.C. handgun ban.

Officials hope it also will forestall what they say could be a protracted and costly legal battle if the village tries to keep the handgun ban in place. The National Rifle Association and three local NRA members have already files suit seeking to stop the village from enforcing the ban.

As noted in an earlier post (see here), Morton Grove's repeal of its ban may simply be a way to avoid a costly legal fight, while letting deep-pocketed cities like Chicago and San Francisco fight the Second Amendment incorporation issue to keep their gun bans in place. If those cities win, then look for Morton Grove to reinstate any of its own repealed gun bans. If the big cities lose, towns like Morton Grove have saved themselves many hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) in attorneys' fees, both for their own lawyers, and the plaintiffs' attorneys for bringing a successful civil rights suit.