Chicago (and Cook County) to Ban Handguns

From Jeff Sawyers Blog - http://Alphecca.com/

We already know that in Chicago, it’s nearly impossible to legally own a handgun. Now, the move is on to ban most gun ownership in the entire of Cook County. The Illinois State Rifle Association has pointed to this legislation — still in the proposal stage — and everyone should be alarmed. First, a whole new arduous registration for all firearms is required. Second, even if your firearms are already registered, they must be “reregistered.” Third, a whole class of “assault weapons” is banned from registration. Lastly, any handgun that fails for the following would be banned even if currently registered:

Sec. 58-132.5. Unregisterable firearms.

No registration certificate shall be issued for any of the following types of firearms:

(a) Sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle;

(b) Firearms other than handguns, owned or possessed by any person in the County prior to the effective date of this Ordinance which are not validly registered prior to the effective date of this Ordinance;

(c) Handguns, except:

(1) Those validly registered to a current owner in the County prior to the effective date of this Ordinance, and which contain each of the following:

(i) A safety mechanism to hinder the use of the handgun by unauthorized users. Such devices shall include, but shall not be limited to, trigger locks, combination handle locks, and solenoid use-limitation devices; and,

(ii) A load indicator device that provides reasonable warning to potential users such that even users unfamiliar with the weapon would be forewarned and would understand the nature of the warning;

So, if your handgun does not contain a loaded chamber indicator, you’re screwed and have to turn your gun in to the sheriff. That’s almost all handguns manufactured more than a few years ago.

I’m sure this will make Barack Obama happy since it’s his district and he’s on record as favoring a ban on all semi-automatic firearms.

In a separate proposal, all gun shows in Cook County would be banned and also most gun stores. That last is accomplished by the following zoning requirements:

Sec. 54-154. Limitation on concentration.

(a) No deadly weapons dealer license may be issued to any person seeking a license to operate a gun shop in the County which will be located within ten miles of any other gun shop within or outside of the County as measured from the property lines of the respective properties.

(b) No deadly weapons dealer license may be issued to any person seeking a license to operate a gun shop in the County which will be located within one mile of any public or private school or public park as measured from the property lines of the respective properties.

Is it even possible to find a suitable property for a shop — commercially zoned — that isn’t within a mile of a school or park?