Press release:
BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has won a permanent injunction against the Warren County, Ill. Housing Authority’s ban on the possession of firearms by residents or guests. The case was filed more than a year ago in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Rock Island Division. Ronald G. Winbigler, a resident of Costello Terrace in Monmouth [not shown], is a physically disabled former police officer who wanted to keep a handgun in his residence for personal protection . . .
SAF filed the lawsuit on his behalf, and they were represented by attorney David Sigale, who noted, “People do not lose their Second Amendment rights just because they are of limited means. It is an indignity to make the waiver of constitutional rights a condition of government-subsidized housing.”
SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb was delighted with the ruling.
“We brought this case because it was unconscionable,” Gottlieb said, “in the wake of our victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago that a public entity in Illinois would engage in this kind of discrimination against a citizen. The WCHA has removed the lease provisions, and agreed that they were unconstitutional.”
In an order signed by District Judge Sara Darrow, plaintiffs are awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. In her ruling, however, she did not make a constitutional declaration, but only recognized that SAF and the WCHA had agreed in that issue.
“Public housing is the last place one would expect to encounter residency provisions that run counter to the Bill of Rights,” Gottlieb said. “We’re delighted that this issue has been resolved to the benefit of Mr. Winbigler and citizens like him.”
Whoopee! Well done.
An identical case was won in San Francisco a couple years ago.
“On January 14, 2009, the San Francisco Housing Authority reached a settlement with the NRA, which allows residents to possess legal firearms within a SFHA apartment building”
The NRA also recovered quite a large chunk of change in attorney’s fees and such.
Good for SAF. I wish I had more money to donate to them.
-A.
“I wish I had more money.”
FIFY.
Actually, government housing is the first place I would expect to see an infringement on the Bill of Rights.
Welcome back, Mr. Gottlieb. All is forgiven. But maybe not forgotten.
Gottlieb – as we say in the business world . . . . STAY IN YOUR LANE.
Stop trying to craft legislation – stick to litigation
Good point.
I agree. Forgiving is rather easy. It’s the FORGETTING that’s the hard part, especially when memories are imprinted in a person’s brain; like a brand is imprinted in the hide of a steer. Gottlieb’s support of this rule can be construed as an act of atonement.
Excellent. If there is one place where the average citizen has no choice but to exercise self protection and self preservation it’s in some of these public housing developments. Curious to know how this applies to Chicago’s public housing disasters, if at all.
Illustrating Chicago’s Murders, Homicides, Violence and Idiocy at heyjackass.com
Winbigler. He did for a fact. Love that name.
2 AF got it done. Cool.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
What’s with the picture of Chicago???
I love it when the SAF wins: They win the principle, they get paid, and the a$$hat legislators have to be seen signing the check. It’s like a bonanza…And they can pile the money into the next battle. The gift that keeps on giving.
+1
but but Mike? The government said so… I know, I know. Civilized behavior prevailed here?
This is why the saf is better than the NRA…they get stuff done! The NRA sits on their hundreds of millions and spends it on crap like NASCAR. They even try to circumvent the saf like they did with the heller case.
Uh, the SAF supported Manchin-Toomey (until it didn’t). The NRA opposed it, along with every other gungrabbing bill that got shot down. The Democrats blame the NRA for their inability to get their anti-2A agenda through the Senate. And you actually believe that the NRA doesn’t get things done?
Interesting.
Yes, before they screwed it the MT bill WAS a good bill for gun owners. The politricksters played the ol bait and switch game.
The NRA gave Harry Reid an A rating…enough said.
Gottlieb doing what Gottlieb does best.
Lo, a fray.
I live in this county and this is the first I have heard of this case.
The town is Monmouth and its where I live. This is exciting as hell for me to see the money I give to SAF being used in my hometown. Im sharing this story with everyone I know!
Yet again, the Courts are generally our friends.
Thank the Gods for the third branch, and all their sub-branches, twigs and such.
Since the Woollard and Kachalsky appeals went against 2A, I would say that the courts are unpredictable.
Ok, I feel a little better about my recent SAF life membership after this. After Manchin-Toomey, not so much.
I still like and trust in SAF. I’m a life member and recently received a call asking for a donation for ongoing litigation they’re involved in.
This was just a few days following the failure of Manchin-Toomey, as the “armed intelligentsia” is aware, there was much debate about their support for some amendments to it. I asked them about their support and they explained it mostly the way Alan Gottlieb did in his article. I’m not trying to defend it, but I get it. They may not be as politically savvy as the NRA, but there was some solid reform and enhancement of 2A in their proposals. As soon as it was realized that their support was being misused and that their proposals were being left out, they pulled it.
I look at the big 3 (GOA, SAF and NRA) as the holy trinity getting it done on behalf of the 2A. Each having their own particular strengths and weaknesses, but each comprising the whole.
While this is a win of sorts for Mr Winbigler, this isn’t really a win for us in the larger sense. The court accepted an agreement between the two parties, but we did not get a ruling on the (un) constitutionality of the ban from the court. Chicago and other cities are free to (re) institute similar bans without a court decision saying they can’t. Should they elect to do so we will have to re-litigate the issue.
Or am I missing something?
-bsd
Yes, they lost a lot of money, something they care deeply about, other than the children of course, Randy
My landlord has said that he’s ok with his tenants owning guns as long as they don’t carry and/or store them at the properties they rent from him. This is the same guy who said that I can’t use a portion of my tax refund to pay a few months rent in advance.
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