(ConservativeInsider.org) – A federal judge in Illinois, Sharon Johnson Coleman, has sparked a heated debate by striking down a law that prohibited undocumented immigrants from owning guns. Judge Coleman’s landmark decision throws into question the legality of a longstanding federal statute and reignites the national conversation about gun rights and immigration.
The case involved Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, an undocumented immigrant arrested in Chicago in 2020 for carrying a handgun. Carbajal-Flores argued he needed the weapon for self-defense during a period of social unrest following the death of George Floyd. Federal courts previously upheld the ban, but Judge Coleman took a different stance.
Citing Carbajal-Flores’ lack of a violent criminal history and the nonviolent nature of his arrest, Judge Coleman ruled that his right to self-defense, protected by the Second Amendment, couldn’t be revoked simply due to his immigration status.
However, the crux of the decision hinges on the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Bruen vs. New York. In that case, the court mandated that gun control measures align with the United States’ history of fire-arm regulation. Judge Coleman argued that there’s no historical precedent for stripping undocumented immigrants of their fundamental right to self-defense, thus deeming the federal statute unconstitutional.
As expected, this decision has been met with mixed reactions. Gun rights advocates have lauded the ruling, arguing that the Second Amendment guarantees a “natural right” to bear arms, a right that should extend to everyone, regardless of their immigration status.
Matthew Larosiere, a legal expert specializing in the Second Amendment law, echoes this view. He argues excluding undocumented immigrants from the Second Amendment’s protection implies the Founding Fathers intended limitations on other fundamental rights for certain groups, a notion that he finds implausible.
However, others have expressed concerns.
A political commentator, Jay Oliver, emphasizes that his stance isn’t incompatible with gun rights. He further argued against undocumented immigrants possessing illegally obtained fire-arms, highlighting the dangers of unregulated weapons in the wrong hands.
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