The latest example of this phenomenon features the state of Illinois and its re-naming of certain gun-related crimes. Until this year, those arrested for possessing a firearm without a FOID card or carry license generally faced charges of unlawful use of a weapon, or, in some cases, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. 

As The Trace reports, however, under a bill that took effect in January  unlawful "use" of weapon statutes have now been changed to unlawful "possession"; a change that makes sense from a logical standpoint, but one that was undertaken in the name of reducing the stigma around the charges themselves. 

"What we were learning through our criminal defense attorneys is that even in the courtroom, they were encountering judges who were misinterpreting what the defendant in front of them had done because of this inaccurate title,” said Emma Ruth, the policy manager at Cabrini Green Legal Aid in Chicago, a nonprofit that provides free legal support to people involved with the criminal legal system. 

The group helped spearhead the law, known as House Bill 4500. “We were really focused on the potential residual impact of somebody having a record with an inaccurate offense title on it, so thinking about the impact on landlords, on employers, on people seeking subsequent opportunities,” she said. “A layperson would see this on their records and really misunderstand or misinterpret the initial offense that led to their involvement in the system.”

I'm sure that most people would assume that unlawful use of a weapon means that a trigger was pulled and some harm was done, and I don't take issue with changing the official name of these criminal charges. But the name change misses the broader point: why is the state of Illinois (along with other anti-gun states around the country) criminalizing the possession of a firearm without a state-issued permission slip in the first place, and why aren't these legal aid groups fighting to change that legal absurdity and constitutional abomination? 

The title changes arrive amid growing concerns from community advocates and criminal justice researchers about both the growing number of people in Chicago who are incarcerated for gun possession and the fact that these charges disproportionately affect Black communities. 

In a 2024 report from the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, researchers found that incarceration for illegal gun possession has been increasing in Cook County over the past two decades. From 2019 to 2023 — a period when 3,097 people were fatally shot in Chicago — for every one arrest involving a gun being discharged, Chicago police made six for gun possession. 

“We’re really seeing policing focusing in on gun possession, which is not only a nonviolent charge, but is ultimately a licensure issue, many people are under-licensed,” said Naomi Johnson, Appleseed’s co-executive director. 

The argument is that those possessing a firearm without a license are more likely to commit a crime with a gun than someone who's jumped through all the hoops necessary to receive a FOID card or a carry permit. That may very well be the case, but that doesn't mean that the state's licensing process is helpful. Instead of criminalizing unlicensed gun possession, why not scrap the licensing requirement altogether and focus on expanding access to real gun safety and training programs in places like Chicago? The Second City is a range and gun store desert, which means that any resident seeking training is going to have to make their way to the suburbs; not an easy task for those dependent on public transportation, where lawful carry and gun possession is prohibited under state law. 

The stigma surrounding a guilty plea or conviction for "unlawful use of a weapon" is real, but a name change doesn't get to the heart of the problem. It's the state's refusal to treat gun ownership as an inalienable right that's the fundamental issue, and one that lawmakers, gun control activists, and even some public defenders don't want to address.