Federal judge calls Chicago’s ban on gun sales unconstitutional

A federal judge declared Monday that Chicago’s 2010 ordinance banning the sale of firearms within city limits was unconstitutional, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The ordinance outlawed gun shops and prevented licensed dealers to sell guns, Chicago attorneys argued, in an effort to reduce the gun violence in the city and restrict criminals’ access to guns.

U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang wrote in his opinion that the city’s ban “goes to far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers from engaging in lawful acquisitions and lawful sales of firearms.”

Chang also delayed his ruling so that the city could have time to file an appeal. The ruling, however, doesn’t prevent Chicago from placing its own regulations on firearm sales within city limits, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The decision also follows the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling to strike down Chicago’s 30-year blanket ban on firearms.