Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel presides over a City Council meeting at which he proposed an ordinance that would impose strict regulations on gun sales in Chicago. (Brian Jackson / Chicago Sun-Times)
LA Times
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed a slate of tough gun control measures that would subject gun shops to strict monitoring, including video surveillance of all purchases, in an effort to stem violence in a city beset with an unusually high number of gun deaths.
The restrictions came after a federal court order in January forced Chicago to end its ban on gun sales in the city and gave officials until July to put in place regulations before the ban is lifted.
The Emanuel administration in a report released this week makes a case for Chicago gun shops to videotape all sales, ban gun shops in 99.5% of the city and limit each gun buyer at a store to one purchase a month, except for relics and returns. Gun sellers would be subject to quarterly audits.
In addition, gun shop workers would have to pass background checks and be trained to spot fake or “straw” purchasers, such as a male gang member getting a girlfriend to buy his gun because he’s ineligible.
Attempting to deter shops from making sketchy sales, city officials could cross-check records against a regional trace database that Emanuel wants to establish, showing where guns used in crimes were purchased. Fines for violations could run a few thousand dollars.
