Chicago Gun Ban Ignored

Gee, you think so?

• By one expert's estimate, there is a handgun in as many as 100,000 city households, despite the ban. And gang members or those with misdeeds in mind aren't the only ones who have them. In some neighborhoods, otherwise-law-abiding citizens feel forced to violate the gun ban, they say, to protect themselves and their families.
  
  "You've got to do what you've got to do," said a DVD salesman from Marquette Park, who has two daughters and said he bought a handgun after two thugs shot him during a recent robbery attempt. "I think people need guns to protect themselves."
  
  
• ... based on a study that Ludwig and other experts conducted in 2007 on Chicago's underground gun market, he roughly estimated that as many as 100,000 Chicago households could have handguns.
  
  "Judging from the available data, there are apparently a lot of people in Chicago who feel strongly enough they need a gun for protection that they're willing to ignore the ban," Ludwig said.

100,000? We're going to go out on a limb here and label that number the low end of the spectrum. And once the Supremes come down with their ruling and once the summer really gets cranking, we're going to call 500,000 a very low estimate as decent people who were only hesitating over the misdemeanor charge for "Failure to Register" take advantage of the change to finally buy a gun or upgrade.

People want to feel safe and they're finally realizing that Shortshanks doesn't make them any safer by restricting their options, putting up cameras, shorting them police coverage, etc. People will do what they have to to at least feel safe in their homes. It's human nature.