Black Firearm Owners: Gun Control Hurts Our Communities

Jessica Luckett got her first gun at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and it opened her eyes to the various laws and policies governing legal firearms ownership.

She works remotely for a nonprofit and lives alone in a West Pullman townhouse on the southern tip of Chicago. She often visits family and friends in Englewood, a high-crime neighborhood on the South Side where she grew up.

For Illinois residents to own a gun, they must get a firearm owner’s identification card, which is a months-long process. Then, to carry the gun outside the home for self-defense, a concealed carry license is needed, which Luckett acquired.

Yet, through friends at a women’s gun club, she learned that other states observe very different gun laws. Most don’t ask for a firearm owner’s identification card and some don’t even ask for a concealed carry license.