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PIVOTAL SUPREME COURT CASE: Gun-Rights Ruling in Chicago Would Impact the Nation (Guest in Eastern time)
This week, the Supreme Court will hear McDonald vs. Chicago, a potential landmark case that is poised to set a major precedent in the ongoing battle to establish gun rights in the United States.
On trial is a 27-year-old Chicago gun-ban law that attorneys representing four Chicago residents (including Otis McDonald, pictured), the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association say is un-Constitutional for its violation of residents’ 2nd Amendment rights.
Available for interviews to look deeper into the case, project on its outcome and explore its enormous impact—whichever way it may swing—is Larry Pratt, the Executive Director of the Gun Owners of America, and a virtual political and legislative encyclopedia on these issues.
The dynamics of the case are fascinating beyond just the rights of the four citizens bringing forth the case.
In 2008, District of Columbia vs. Heller was a similar case put before the Supreme Court related to a gun ban in the nation’s capital. The Court ruled that a D.C. law could not override an individual’s 2nd Amendment right to own a firearm for protection.
However, being that D.C. is a federal government enclave, and not a city or state jurisdiction unto itself, the Court never addressed whether or not the 2nd Amendment likewise could block any city or state’s local gun ban.
Enter McDonald vs. Chicago—which will force the suspenseful answer to this question and serve as a serious game changer in a longstanding Bill-of -Rights battle that is among the most contentious in the nation’s history.
Call Special Guests today to invite Larry Pratt on your show. Find out the incredible implications of the case and how some fear that even a gun-rights victory like the one in Heller—as most legal analysts expect—may not stop antigun groups from being creative.
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE MAY BE USEFUL FOR SHOW PREP:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/28/AR2010022803985.html?hpid=topnews
ABOUT YOUR EXPERT GUEST, LARRY PRATT:
Larry Pratt has been Executive Director of Gun Owners of America for 30 years. GOA is a national membership organization of 300,000 Americans dedicated to promoting their second amendment freedom to keep and bear arms.
GOA lobbies for the pro-gun position in Washington and is involved in firearm issues in the states. GOA’s work includes providing legal assistance to those involved in lawsuits with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the federal firearms law enforcement agency.
Pratt has appeared on numerous national radio and TV programs such as NBC’s Today Show, CBS’ Good Morning America, CNN’s Crossfire and Larry King Live, Fox’s Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC’s Phil Donahue and Dan Abrams show and many others.
Larry Pratt has debated Congressmen James Traficant, Jr. (D-OH), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Vice President Al Gore, among others.
Larry’s columns have appeared in newspapers across the country.
Pratt published a book, Armed People Victorious, in 1990 and was editor of a book, Safeguarding Liberty: The Constitution & Militias, 1995.
Pratt’s latest book is “On the Firing Line: Essays in the Defense of Liberty.”
Pratt has held elective office in the state legislature of Virginia, serving in the House of Delegates. Pratt directs a number of other public interest organizations and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the American Institute for Cancer Research.
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