Eleven days before he died on March 13, 2010, Ralph Conner, local legislation manager for The Heartland Institute, attended the March 2 reception in Washington, DC in honor of the plaintiffs in the McDonald v. Chicago case, otherwise known as the Chicago Gun case, sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation. The Supreme Court today ruled Chicago’s gun ban law is unconstitutional.
Ralph, pictured below at the reception with his friend and lead plaintiff Otis McDonald, was a tireless advocate for gun ownership rights. He appeared in the film “No Guns for Negroes,” exposing the racist history of gun control laws. His riveting speech “No Guns for Negroes Live” was featured at the Continental Congress 2009. He was chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE). His many writings and speeches on the Second Amendment can be found by using the search box at www.heartland.org.
“We’re sending a shout out so that people can know that there is hope for the inner city … when citizens have the right to stand in their own communities and to demand safety and to guarantee safety for themselves,” Ralph said at a Second Amendment rally.
Your shout was heard by the Court, Ralph. We can almost see you smiling down on us today. We are smiling back up at you, with gratitude.
Maureen Martin
Senior Fellow for Legal Affairs
The Heartland Institute
Maureen Martin, a former legal fellow at The Heartland Institute, passed away on February 5, 2013.
