Open Letter From Colleen Lawson, McDonald V. City Of Chicago Plaintiff

The Chicago crime buffet is over, we are not prey

-Colleen Lawson, plaintiff, McDonald v. City of Chicago

The other day I happened to read an open letter posted on my neighbor’s Facebook page. This wasn’t just any old letter from some random Chicagoan. In fact, there’s a good chance you might have heard of her. I’m talking about Colleen Lawson, a 51-year-old hypnotherapist who ended up being a plaintiff in McDonald v. City of Chicago after she became personally-interested in gun rights after her home was broken into one afternoon by three men while she was home sick with the flu. In case you’re not familiar with the McDonald case, in June 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Second Amendment protects the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms no matter in which city or state one resides. Handgun bans, like those that existed in the City of Chicago and the Village of Oak Park, Illinois, became unconstitutional with this decision.

Lawson wrote the following “open letter” on her Facebook page this past Monday:

Dear Legislator:

Could you please help me decide which of my kids lives to save? Here’s the problem:

Last night yet another of my kids found himself on the goodbye end of a robber’s gun as the robber slowly counted down

“5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . ”

I know you politicians told us “if it saves one life, then keeping guns away from law-abiding citizens is the right thing to do!” but I’m having a little trouble figuring out which life is the one to be saved. I’ve had most of these kids for 20 years or more, and I’m rather fond of them all.

My kid last night? It was his third time facing armed robbers in Chicago, in Illinois. Can you tell me how many times is just right and how many times is too many?

You can read her entire letter here on the website of the Illinois State Rifle Association, which she is a member of and to whom she gave permission to reprint her Facebook entry in its entirety.

Enjoy!

Tags: Chicago, Colleen Lawson, gun control, handgun control, Illinois, McDonald v. City of Chicago, Oak Park

Friday, March 25th, 2011 Crime, Firearms, Government, Gun Rights, Public Safety, Self-Defense

1 Comment to Open Letter From Colleen Lawson, McDonald V. City Of Chicago Plaintiff

[...] weapons. “I see more Chicago legislators opening up to talk,” said Phelps.I would think more women in the city, a key constituency, might consider it as well.Related post: Violence at KC Country [...]