With many people predicting that the Supreme Court will overturn Chicago's ban on handguns following arguments heard Tuesday, Mayor Daley expressed outrage.
His voice "dripping with sarcasm," the mayor ripped SCOTUS on Wednesday. The Sun-Times reports:
"Why can't I go to the Supreme Court and sit there with a gun and listen to the arguments? If a gun is so important to us on the street or someone's home, why can't I go to the Supreme Court and sit there with a gun? I'm not gonna shoot anyone. But, I have a right to that gun," Daley said.
"Why can't I go see my congressman who doesn't believe in gun laws? Why can't I carry my gun into congressmen's offices or go to his home and knock on his door and say, 'Don't be worried. I have a gun. You want me to have a gun.' Why is it they want to be protected by all the federal money ... to protect all the federal bureaucrats, but when it comes to us in the city" there's no protection?
Handguns have been outlawed in Chicago for 28 years. But in 2008, in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court reversed a handgun ban in Washington, D.C., emboldening gun-rights activists to challenge the Chicago law. Suburban Oak Park, which has even stronger gun legislation, is also involved in the lawsuit.
Daley called the 2008 ruling "frightening," the Sun-Times reports.
"When a child gets shot or killed, that is a failure of society," Daley said. "Adults should stand up and say, guns don't solve things in homes or streets. If it was, then everyone here would be carrying a gun in our own corporations."
Following the DC ruling, the D.C. Council replaced its ban with regulations that require gun owners to receive five hours of safety training, register their firearms every three years and face criminal background checks every six years, according to the Sun-Times.
Though a decision is not expected until June, those familiar with the case predict that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Scalia, Alito, Kennedy and Thomas would favor overturning the ban, for a 5-4 majority.