Appeals Court Shuts Down Chicago Gun Range Ordinance

On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Chicago’s city ordinances restricting where gun ranges can be located are unconstitutional, reports ABC News.

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The city ordinances required gun ranges to be located within manufacturing areas and prohibited them from being near other gun ranges, residential areas, schools, parks and places of worships.

The city cited public health and safety reasons, arguing that gun ranges attract gun thieves, cause airborne lead contamination and are at an increased risk of fires.

However, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals countered, saying, “The city has provided no evidentiary support for these claims, nor has it established that limiting shooting ranges to manufacturing districts and distancing them from the multiple and various uses listed in the buffer-zone rule has any connection to reducing these risks.”

ABC News noted that one of the three judges on the panel was Diane Sykes, who was considered by President-elect Donald Trump as a candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court.

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