Chicago City Council Approves New Gun Laws

Following their defeat in McDonald v. Chicago, Mayor Daley and the Chicago City Council went back to the drawing board. They approved the new law by a vote of 45-0 this morning.

According to the Chicago Tribune the provisions include:

*Applicants would need a Chicago firearm permit, costing $100 every three years, as well as an Illinois firearm owner's ID card. They would be required to register all their guns with the city, at a cost of $15 per gun every three years.

*Firearm sales would be banned in the city.

*Chicago residents could register no more than one handgun per month for each qualifying adult in a home.

*People who now own firearms illegally would get a 90-day grace period after the new law takes effect to register the guns without penalty.

*Gun training totaling four hours in a classroom and an hour on a firing range is required before getting a permit. But firing ranges are banned, so training would need to be completed outside Chicago.

*To transport a gun, it would have to be "broken down," not immediately accessible, unloaded and in a firearm case.

* Firearms could be possessed only inside the dwelling. It would be illegal to have a gun in the garage, on the front porch or in the yard. Guns also would not be allowed in hotels, dorms and group living facilities.

*Only one firearm per permit holder can be kept in ready-to-fire condition. Other guns must be taken apart or have trigger locks in place. In homes with minors, all guns must be secured when they are not in the possession of the owner.

*Permit applicants must be at least 21 years old, unless a parent signs for someone 18 or older.

*Assault weapons are banned, as are sawed-off shotguns and "unsafe" handguns, as defined by the Chicago Police Department, which will maintain an online list of prohibited guns.

Alderman James Balcer is quoted as saying about the restrictions, that "You can buy one pistol a month. What is wrong with that? If you can’t protect your home with that armament, you shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t be here." After working that hard to keep the good people of Chicago disarmed for so long while crime ran rampant, perhap it is Alderman Balcer who shouldn't be there.

UPDATE: Alan Gura gives his impressions of the new Chicago handgun laws.