A ‘Second’ chance

Immig with a gun: I have right to bear arms

An undocumented immigrant busted for shooting a gun argued in court Wednesday that he should be entitled to the same Second Amendment rights as U.S. citizens.

In a case that may have far-reaching ramifications, Javier Perez, a Mexican national, contends that he is being unfairly hit with criminal charges for shooting in the air on a Brooklyn sidewalk to fend off gang rivals in July 2016.

“The Framers were clear: If they meant citizens, they would have said citizens. But they didn't,” his defense lawyer, Samuel Jacobson, argued in Brooklyn Federal Court. “There is no suggestion that there was a concept of ‘illegal alien' and no suggestion that if you were from a foreign country, you couldn't bear arms.”

Brooklyn federal prosecutors are furious the case has been allowed to move forward. They argue that Perez has zero Second Amendment rights because he came to the U.S. illegally.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Hajjar also said that undocumented people frequently live above the law.

"Those who don't have legal status here have an interest in defying law enforcement. They have an interest in not maintaining a stable residence or registering a firearm," she argued in court.

Perez hopes a 2008 Supreme Court case that struck down a Washington handgun ban will bolster his case.

That 5-4 decision concluded that it was “preemptively lawful” to prohibit guns for felons and mentally unstable people.

Perez's lawyer points out that decision made no mention of undocumented immigrants, meaning they should be entitled to the same rights as law abiding American citizens.

Prosecutors maintain the Supreme Court decision does not address cases involving undocumented immigrants who came to the country illegally.

If found guilty, Perez faces up to 10 years in prison.