Evanston caves on gun ban

Evanston, Illinois has apparently decided to repeal its handgun ban after all, citing the prospect of a costly legal battle.

Bent on avoiding the legal costs of defending its handgun ban against a challenge by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the Evanston City Council Monday agreed to permit possession of handguns within the home.

In a 7-1 vote, aldermen opted for pragmatism over principle on the hope of ending a lawsuit filed June 27 by the NRA. The suit seeks to strike down the City's 1982 ban on possession of any operative handgun. The challenge was filed one day after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right to possess a handgun within the home in a Washington, D.C. case.

"Quite honestly, we cannot afford to fight for principle at this point when the law is against us," said Alderman Steven J. Bernstein, Fourth Ward. Bernstein lamented that handguns kept in the home "more often than not get into the hands of people who are coming into the home to do bad things."
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Article here.