ISRA Wins In Case Against East St. Louis Housing Authority

 

For Immediate Release                                                                             

April 11, 2019                                                                                                                

Contact: Richard Pearson   

 815-635-3198

                                     

Chatsworth, IL – US District Court Judge Phil Gilbert today ruled that the East St. Louis Housing Authority rules and regulations cannot deny a tenant the right to lawfully own a firearm, the Illinois State Rifle Association, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, announced today.

The case centered around a woman who had been beaten and raped in her home. The assault only ended when one of her children pulled out a gun. Out of fear for her ex-husband, she wanted to have a gun for protection, but she did not want to get kicked out of her home as the East St. Louis Housing Authority had rules against gun ownership.

Judge Gilbert’s ruling states, “Among whatever else, the Second Amendment protects the right of a law-abiding individual to possess functional firearms in his or her home for lawful purposes, most notably for self-defense and defense of family.”

The ruling orders the East St. Louis Housing Authority to amend its rules to allow legal gun ownership, and the ruling also awards the woman (her name is being withheld because of the potential danger to her) money for attorneys’ fees.

“The right to defend your life and your property is a right for everyone regardless of where they live,” said Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association.  “The ruling today is a common-sense ruling that reaffirms the rights we have as citizens of this country. It is sad that this woman had to go to these lengths just to defend herself. The threats to her are real. Thankfully, she will be able to legally own a firearm and defend herself, but it is truly sad that it takes a federal judge to do what should have been done a long time ago.”

This is the 16^th straight court victory for the ISRA.

“We are extremely fortunate to have attorney David Sigale working on these cases,” Pearson said. “He has won more 2^nd Amendment cases than any other attorney in the nation.”

For more information, log on to www.isra.org.