Professors Margareth Etienne and Suja Thomas co-authored an op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times, where they proposed that Second Amendment rights are not applied equally. An excerpt follows:

"Nothing in the Constitution restricts gun ownership by ethnicity, of course. But in reality, the Second Amendment doesn’t apply equally to people of color, who are often killed while trying to fully exercise their right to “keep and bear Arms” to defend themselves or protect others.

"Take the story of Breonna Taylor and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker, neither of whom had criminal records. When three men in street clothes attempted to break through their door at one o’clock in the morning, Walker grabbed his registered firearm. When the men broke down the door, he fired a single shot in self-defense. The men, who he later learned were police, fired back several rounds. They shot Walker, arrested him for attempted murder and killed Breonna."

Read the full op-ed at chicago.suntimes.com. 

Note: The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Illinois College of Law.