by Jim Clayborn | RNN
Illinois is one of the most challenging states for residents to own firearms, given restrictions such as requiring law-abiding residents to possess a Firearm Owner’s Identification card. The requirements are even more cumbersome when one attempts to obtain a concealed-carry license.
Illinois is also one of the states where a concealed-carry license is often the difference between life and death.
That was evidenced last week on the southside of Chicago after a carjacker got a nasty dose of Second Amendment justice from a woman who decided that she wouldn’t become another statistic on that day.
According to WBBM-TV, a 23-year-old Chicago woman was minding her business while sitting in her car in the Calumet Heights neighborhood around 2 a.m. Wednesday when a gang of four armed thugs approached her in an attempt to steal her vehicle, police said.
One of the men made the foolish decision of trying to force open the door of the woman’s car while flashing a gun.
The next sound he heard was her firearm. The woman, who has a concealed-carry license, shot him in the head and then fled on foot.
Though one of the other men opened fire and struck her in the arm, she was able to flee the scene to safety, police said. The woman was later transported to a local hospital for treatment.
She remains unidentified, WBBM and Fox News reported.
Three of the carjackers managed to escape after she displayed exactly why concealed-carry permits are so critically necessary in one of the most dangerous U.S. cities on the map.
The one shot in the head was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, police said.
Whoever taught the woman’s concealed-carry class should be commended. Practice and theory are one thing, but deploying those learned skills in such a dangerous, adrenaline-filled situation — and making it out alive — is an entirely different ballgame.
One unarmed woman versus four armed criminals would have been a tragic, entirely different ending for this scenario. The ability to carry and use a firearm when needed is an invaluable equalizer, especially for women, who are generally more susceptible to violent crimes because their attackers assume they’re defenseless.
Chicago has been among the most dangerous cities for quite some time now, and it appears to be worsening under Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who believes she deserves a raise.
Fox News noted that seven carjackings were reported in the span of under one hour on Friday night.
Some of those carjacking victims were held at gunpoint, and it’s not a stretch to presume that many of those people, who were helpless victims, probably wished they had a concealed-carry permit and the ability to defend themselves and their families from Chicago’s roving gangs of thugs who prey on the innocent.
Democrats continue to push for stricter gun laws across the country, even in Illinois, which has some of the strictest gun laws on the books.
But Chicago’s gun violence isn’t because of a lack of gun laws; instead, it’s a lack of the enforcement of existing criminal laws.
What’s more, strict gun laws tend to negatively affect law-abiding gun owners, not the types of criminals who carjacked the 23-year-old woman. Criminals generally do not buy firearms at the local Bass Pro Shops.
It’s essential to tell the stories of survivors who used their Second Amendment rights to defend others, themselves and their property. Thank God this woman had what it took, when it counted most, to do what needed to be done.
It’s quite striking, too, in a city filled to the brim with crooks using guns illegally, that Chicago concealed carriers have been tallying numerous successes protecting themselves and others from the worst possible scenarios. Here’s a sampling just from this year:
- In September, gunmen opened fire at partygoers outside a Chicago home and shot a 13-year-old boy in the head, but the victim’s 21-year-old cousin — a concealed carry license holder — pulled out his gun and shot back, after which the gunmen fled.
- Also in September, a concealed carry license holder shot an armed 13-year-old boy in Chicago as the boy allegedly was breaking into the concealed carrier’s car.
- In July, a woman with a concealed carry license shot at a group of males who pointed a gun at her as they attempted to steal her car in Chicago — and a 13-year-old male who was with the would-be thieves was shot.
- In February, a knife-wielding man in a Chicago alley approached a concealed carrier, who shot the man with the knife once in the leg. Police eventually used a Taser on the suspect and arrested him.
More from local news:
Lightfoot will probably have the woman charged for shooting the dude. She is soft on crime and it shows in their statics.
If “Beetle Juice” Lightfoot were any kind of leader at all, this wouldn’t be occurring on such a regular basis. Thank God this lady had her weapon, she could have ended up another “statistic” in a body bag.
While I applaud this woman for shooting a thug I have a question, minding her own business sitting in a car at 2am? who does that?
Like the commercial says. “Chicago. it’s the center of everything”. Like Crime, Corruption and Graft. Why? Uninformed voters,,or, Voters that VOTE FOR A LIVING.