Western Suburb Settles Suit with Anti-Gun Activists

Norman Parish | As of Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Lyons, a suburb west of Chicago, recently passed an ordinance requiring a gun shop to keep records on guns it sells. The law helped Lyons settle a lawsuit with a group of anti-gun activists who claimed too many guns ended up on Chicago streets from the suburb. Pamela Montgomery-Bosley, whose son, Terrell, died in gun violence, is a plaintiff in the suit.
Lyons, a suburb west of Chicago, recently passed an ordinance requiring a gun shop to keep records on guns it sells. The law helped Lyons settle a lawsuit with a group of anti-gun activists who claimed too many guns ended up on Chicago streets from the suburb. Pamela Montgomery-Bosley, whose son, Terrell, died in gun violence, is a plaintiff in the suit.

A western suburb settled a lawsuit with a group of anti-gun activists who claimed that too many of the firearms from that community eventually ended up on Chicago streets.

 The village of Lyons, as a part of its settlement, passed an ordinance last month requiring a gun shop to keep records of weapons it sells.

 For example, Midwest Sporting Goods, which has operated a gun store in Lyons for a half decade, must maintain a “do not sell” list of customers whose weapons have been tied to crimes.

 Midwest also must report to authorities the names of anyone who attempts to buy a gun illegally.

  “Commonsense gun laws only help make communities safer,” said Lyons Mayor Christopher Getty. “This will not only make our community safer but also surrounding communities safer.”

 In a statement, Midwest Sporting Goods said: “We are proud to further secure our ties to the business and residential communities in the Village of Lyons and the entire Chicago Metro area.”

 It added, “Under the new Lyons ordinance, we look forward to cooperating fully with the Lyons Police Department and all enforcement agencies to identify, report and ferret out any improprieties relating to firearms. We welcome all lawful purchases of sporting goods to our business. We warn any persons who do not intend to follow all lawful procedures to stay away.”

Michael Persoon, who represents the lawsuit’s plaintiff, the Coalition for Safe Chicago Communities, said Lyons is being dropped from the litigation because of the new ordinance.

  In July, a suit alleged Lyons, Riverdale and Lincolnwood did not provide enough oversight over gun shops in their communities.

 The villages have “lax or insufficient methods of administration in licensing or regulating gun dealers,” the suit said.

 The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, also alleges the communities violated the Illinois Civil Rights Act and caused a hardship for African Americans.

 The lawsuit is believed to be one of the first of its kind nationally.

 The suit was based on a Chicago report that shows 20 percent of the guns found at city crime scenes from 2009-2013 were from gun stores in the three villages and also in Gary, Ind.

 Aside from Midwest Guns, the lawsuit targeted weapons at Chuck’s Gun Shop in Riverdale and Shore Galleries in Lincolnwood.

 In the suit, the group called for employees to identify those who buy guns for people barred from owning firearms, otherwise known as straw purchasers.

 The plaintiffs included activist the Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church and Annette Nance-Holt, whose son, Blair, a Julian High School honors student, died after being shot on a CTA bus by a teen. Another high profile plaintiff is Pamela Montgomery-Bosley, whose son, Terrell, died in gun violence several years ago.

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