WILMETTE, Ill. (WBBM) - The village board in north suburban Wilmette Tuesday is expected to repeal the community's handgun ban.
WBBM's Bob Roberts reports.
The ban has not been enforced since last month's U.s. Supreme court ruling affirming individual gun ownership rights under the Second Amendment.
Repeal of the 19-year-old ban is being done quietly, in stark contrast to the intense debate that marked its 1989 passage and subsequent enforcement. No one indicated a desire to speak on the ban when the repeal ordinance was introduced two weeks ago, either from the public or on the board.
Village President Chris Canning said he has not heard any impassioned arguments for or against keeping it since the Supreme Court's ruling.
“I've probably received less than a dozen e-mails on the subject,” Canning said. “Most have been in favor of repealing the ordinance because our ordinance is inconsistent with the Heller (Supreme Court) decision.”
Trustee John Levin agreed.
"I've actually heard no groundswell in either direction,” Levin said. “It's been, at least in this community, a non-event.”
Levin said he predicted the High Court's ruling as far back as 1971.
“The Supreme Court's ruling brings any gun control ordinance into question,” he said.
Despite that, Canning said, he expects Wilmette village officials to watch ongoing court proceedings carefully, and said he would not be surprised if a new proposed ordinance is drafted.
He could not predict what any proposed ordinance would include or how soon it may be drafted.
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