EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the East St. Louis Housing Authority’s rule prohibiting public housing tenants from owning a firearm is unconstitutional.
The Belleville News-Democrat reported that U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert ruled that the ban was a violation of residents’ Second Amendment right to own a firearm for lawful purposes.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association on behalf of a woman who contends that she needed a firearm to protect herself from an abusive ex-husband.
The lawsuit on behalf of the woman — identified as N. Doe —contends the ban is discriminatory against the poor because it does not give them the same right to bear arms that people who can afford private housing enjoy.