Chicago Sun-Times reporter Richard Roeper buried a change of position that can’t be pleasing to the liberals he usually courts.

He is now in favor of Chicago residents being able to own guns.

His conversion is hidden below a headline about the Fenger Academy High School video, but it’s there.  To help him spread the work, I re-typed what you can read above (click to enlarge).

The right to bear arms

If there were no guys in Chicago, I’d be adamantly in favor of keeping it that way.

But, as we all know, that ain’t ever happening.  Hundreds and hundreds of bad guys are armed to the teeth.

I supposed one or two otherwise law-abiding citizens of our great city keep a guy in the house as well.  They know it’s a crime, but nobody’s going to tell them they don’t have the right to defend themselves.

Now here’s where I’m supposed to take the liberal stance and cite anecdotal evidence about gun owners who accidentally shoot themselves or a family member in the dark of night.

But you know what? Seeing as how all those bad guys have guns and we’ve never going to be able to separate them from their weaponry, I say if you live in Chicago and want to buy a guy for protection, you should have that right.

We can debate from now until forever the meaning of the Second Amendment and that whole “well-regulated militia” deal, but the reality in 2009 is we have a criminal element with ready and easy access to everything from Glocks to .357s to 9mm semi-automatics.  If you feel you need a guy to protect your home and your family, you should be able to do so.

The same day, the Chicago Tribune editorial, complete with picture of a handgun appeared.  It expresses support of the present city ban on handguns, now under the threat of U.S. Supreme Court action.

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You can find what the Illinois Republican Party says on the subject here.