SAF, ISRA Sue Housing Authority Over Gun Ban For Residents

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation and Illinois State Rifle Association have filed a lawsuit in federal district court challenging the East St. Louis Housing Authority’s (ESLHA) ban on firearms possession by residents of government subsidized housing in that community.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an “N. Doe” resident who wishes to protect her identity, because she is, according to the lawsuit, “hiding from a violent domestic abuser.” Plaintiffs are represented by Glen Ellyn, Illinois attorney David Sigale, who has worked with both organizations in the past. They are asking for an injunction against enforcement of the no-guns rule at Auburn Terrace, a public housing facility. “This isn’t the first time we’ve had to challenge such a regulation,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “It is simply unacceptable for citizens living in public housing to be denied their basic right to have a firearm for personal protection, and in this case, it is unconscionable.” The complaint alleges that the plaintiff’s rights are being violated under the Second and Fourteenth amendments due to a requirement that no firearms be possessed on the Auburn Terrace property as a condition of lease. “This situation is made even more outrageous considering what has happened to Ms. Doe while living at her home,” Gottlieb noted, referring to the lawsuit document. “We’ve explained how she was beaten and raped in January 2017, and her children stopped the attack only by threatening to use a gun. On two other occasions, Ms. Doe had to call police due to shootings in nearby residences. When the housing authority threatened to terminate her lease due to the gun in her residence, they insisted that the building is safe, so she doesn’t need a gun.” The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.