SKS Rifle Owner Prevails in Chicago “Assault Weapon” Case
FAIRFAX, Va. –-(Ammoland.com)- In a case supported by the NRA, David Lawson, who had previously been a plaintiff in McDonald v. Chicago, challenged the decision by the City of Chicago not to allow him to register two normal SKS rifles with fixed ten-round magazines.
Although the rifles do not meet Chicago’s definition of an “assault weapon,” Chicago refused registration because they were “convertible” into “assault weapons.”
The city denied the registration in spite of the fact Chicago has a separate provision for dealing with registered rifles that are converted into “assault rifles” after registration.
Following an initial rejection and preliminary appeal before a hearing examiner, the case was appealed to the City Court. The judge ruled the hearing examiner had to take evidence as to whether the guns were actually capable of accepting a detachable magazine, which is one of the criteria to define a rifle as an “assault weapon,” and sent the case back to the hearing examiner.
At the hearing, Mr. Lawson and his counsel presented the SKS rifles for examination by the court, but the two “expert witnesses” for the City, both police officers, refused to even touch them.
The judge ruled in favor of Mr. Lawson and ordered the rifles to be accepted for registration.
This case shows how far the city will go to deny law-abiding citizens their Second Amendment rights, refusing to abide by its own regulations until forced by the court.