An Illinois federal judge ruled that a ban on illegal immigrants owning firearms violates the Second Amendment as applied to the defendant in the case.
The Obama-appointed judge had initially upheld the ban but reconsidered after the recent Bruen Supreme Court decision establishing a new test for gun laws.
“The noncitizen possession statute … violates the Second Amendment as applied to Carbajal-Flores,” U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman wrote. “Thus, the Court grants Carbajal-Flores’ motion to dismiss.”
The defendant, an illegal immigrant charged with unlawful gun possession, had no felony or violent crime convictions and said he obtained the gun for self-defense during civil unrest.
Given the defendant’s clean background and lack of evidence he poses a danger, the judge found it unconstitutional to deprive him of his right to bear arms.
“Carbajal-Flores has never been convicted of a felony, a violent crime, or a crime involving the use of a weapon. Even in the present case, Carbajal-Flores contends that he received and used the handgun solely for self-protection and protection of property during a time of documented civil unrest in the Spring of 2020,” the judge wrote. “Additionally, Pretrial Service has confirmed that Carbajal-Flores has consistently adhered to and fulfilled all the stipulated conditions of his release, is gainfully employed, and has no new arrests or outstanding warrants.”
“The Court finds that Carbajal-Flores’ criminal record, containing no improper use of a weapon, as well as the non-violent circumstances of his arrest do not support a finding that he poses a risk to public safety such that he cannot be trusted to use a weapon responsibly and should be deprived of his Second Amendment right to bear arms in self-defense,” Coleman wrote. “Thus, this Court finds that, as applied to Carbajal-Flores, Section 922(g)(5) is unconstitutional.”
This sets precedent that the federal ban on illegal immigrants and firearms may be unconstitutional as applied to those who have not committed other crimes.
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