Otis McDonald

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Memorial Services For Otis McDonald Set For Friday

April 8, 2014 by

Funeral services for civil rights champion Otis McDonald who passed away last week will be held this coming Friday. The services will be at 11am at the Bethlehem Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Harvey, Illinois with interment to follow at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood.

The Second Amendment Foundation posted an obituary this afternoon with remembrances of Mr. McDonald from Alan Gottlieb and Alan Gura. They will be having a remembrance of his life at the Gun Rights Policy Conference held in Chicago this coming September.

From SAF:

SERVICES FOR OTIS McDONALD SET FOR FRIDAY;
SAF REMEMBERS GUN RIGHTS HERO

BELLEVUE, WA – Funeral services for gun rights champion Otis McDonald will be held this Friday at the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Harvey, Ill., the Second Amendment Foundation has learned, with interment to follow at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood.

A pre-pass celebration of Mr. McDonald’s life will be held from 10 to 11 a.m., and the service begins at 11 o’clock. Mr. McDonald passed away April 4 following a long illness, leaving behind his wife, Laura and five children. His nephew, the Rev. Dr. Fred Jones, will officiate, and host pastor is the Rev. Dr. J.C. Smith.

“Otis will continue to live in the hearts and minds of freedom-living Americans who will long remember his important contribution to the gun rights movement,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We were honored to know him, and we are heartbroken at his loss.”

“Otis truly loved people,” attorney Alan Gura, who argued the SAF-funded case of McDonald v. City of Chicago before the Supreme Court. “He was universally kind, patient, and positive, and wanted very much to see his neighbors enjoying their freedom to which they are entitled. We all owe Otis a debt of gratitude that he could fulfill that wish.”

Born in Fort Necessity, La., Mr. McDonald moved north to Chicago after serving in the U.S. Army. He arrived with $7 in his pocket that he had been given by his mother, and for a time he stayed with a friend while searching for and finally landing a job. He worked in several jobs before finding is career as an engineer at the University of Chicago, where he worked as a journeyman engineer. He also worked his way through college, earning a degree in engineering from Kennedy-King College in Chicago. He later served as president of his local trade union.

Mr. McDonald was 80, and in his final years he became the champion of gun rights for which people will remember him. The case that bears his name, filed on his behalf by the Second Amendment Foundation, incorporated the Second Amendment to the states through the 14th Amendment. The victory forced Chicago to get rid of its handgun ban, and paved the way for the courts to force Illinois to adopt a concealed carry statute, which was another SAF case.

The family suggests that remembrances be made to the Second Amendment Foundation and Illinois State Rifle Association.

SAF will hold a remembrance of Otis McDonald’s life and his contribution to the Second Amendment at the Gun Rights Policy Conference, to be held in his home city of Chicago Sept. 26-28.

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Update On Otis McDonald’s Condition

September 29, 2012 by 1 Comment

Colleen and David Lawson, co-plaintiffs in McDonald v. Chicago, gave me an update on Otis McDonald’s condition and well as the circumstances that put him the hospital. This update is made with the permission of Mr. McDonald and his family.

He was standing at home and felt dizzy and did not fall, just let
himself crumple to the floor. After ten minutes, he felt well enough to
rise and out himself to bed, tho it was mid-afternoon. His kids found
him like that and rushed him to the hospital, where it was determined
that he had blood on his brain and put him in ICU. Subsequent tests
determined that surgery is not indicated at this point, and that it
discontinuing his blood pressure meds may be efficacious in relieving
that pressure. The docs felt he had been on them too long and didn’t
need them, and he reports a marked increase in feeling better this
morning, following discontinuance of the blood pressure meds. As of
last night, he was moved out of ICU and into a regular room. Although
visits are discouraged without prior consent of the family, Otis
welcomes your cards and has given permission for this status update to
be shared with any interested persons.


Cards and well wishes may be sent to:


Christ Community Hospital, 4440 W 95th St
Oak Lawn, IL 60453.


Otis McDonald sends his love and gratitude for your inquiries, prayers, and well-wishes.

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Keep Otis McDonald In Your Prayers

September 28, 2012 by 12 Comments

Pastor Kenn Blanchard let me know earlier today that Second Amendment hero Otis McDonald was admitted to the ICU at a Chicago hospital. He was admitted for a cerebral blood clot.  Mr. McDonald has been a fighter all of his life but this may be his toughest battle.

Kenn didn’t know Mr. McDonald’s current condition but requested prayers for him. I second that and would add that we need to keep his family in our prayers as well.

If I hear anything more about his condition, I’ll update this as soon as possible.

UPDATE: Mr. McDonald’s cerebral blood clot is a result of a fall at the airport in which he hit his head. He was on his way to the Gun Rights Policy Conference when he had his accident.    I was informed by Colleen and David Lawson that this happened at home and he was feeling faint. He didn’t fall but merely lowered himself to the floor. He was brought to the hospital a little later that day.

UPDATE II: Julie Versnel reported at the Gun Rights Policy Conference that Mr. McDonald is on the mend. That’s good news!

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Chicago Loses, McDonald (and America) Wins

June 28, 2010 by

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held for Otis McDonald and his fellow plaintiffs. They reversed and remanded the case back to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

As SayUncle noted, “Chicago, Welcome to America”.

I’ll have more later with a complete roundup of comments from around the blogosphere.

This makes Alan Gura two and oh in the Supreme Court.

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McDonald v. Chicago Decision Due Monday

June 24, 2010 by

The Supreme Court released seven of the remaining 11 undecided cases today according to the SCOTUS Blog. McDonald v. Chicago, the case that we hope will incorporate the Second Amendment to the states, was not one of them.

It looks like Monday is the day. That is the last day of this year’s October Term. Also, since Justice Ginsburg issued the opinion in Skilling v. United States, the betting is that Justice Alito will write the decision in the McDonald case.

Given that he was called “Machine Gun Sammy” by the Brady Campaign during his confirmation hearings, I hope this will be good for our side. Sebastian at the Snowflakes in Hell is ambivalent about that given that Justice Alito is a Jersey boy and is not part of the gun culture like Justice Scalia. Time will tell.

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Awaiting the McDonald v. Chicago Decision

June 21, 2010 by

McDonald v. Chicago, the case that we hope will incorporate Second Amendment rights at the state and local level, is still one of the few cases yet to be decided for the Supreme Court’s current term. Custom has it that each justice is assigned at least one opinion per two-week sitting.

The February sitting has two unresolved cases – the Chicago case and one involving the former Enron CEO Jeffery Skilling – and two justices who have not authored an opinion for that sitting. They are Justices Alito and Ginsburg. Dave Hardy has more at the Of Arms and the Law Blog.

The SCOTUS Blog has the statistics on each of the sittings for this October term of the Supreme Court. Note that this “stat-pack” hasn’t been updated to include decisions released today.

It should be noted that Justice Alito was in the majority on the Heller Case and Justice Ginsburg voted against the Second Amendment as an individual right. However, we could all end up being surprised by having Justice Ginsburg write an opinion incorporating the Second Amendment based upon the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment. And pigs can fly, too.