It is official: today, June 25th, 2014, marks the official allowance of gun sales in the city of Chicago. The vote was tallied 48-0 by the Chicago City Council in response to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal, which limits where firearms are to be sold and enforces a videotaping of every sale made, spearheaded after a federal judge removed Chicago’s prohibition on firearm stores.
As of now, gun retailers will be required to possess special-use permits, will face zoning restrictions and cannot be located up to 500 feet of schools or parks. Due to tight zoning requirements, the Emanuel administration asserts that gun stores can only set up shop in about half of a percent of Chicago’s geographic area. In addition to territorial mandates, dealers will need to video record sales and set a 72-hour waiting period for the purchase of handguns, and a 24-hour wait for rifles and shotguns. Only one handgun can be sold per month per buyer, and shop records would be susceptible to quarterly audits in order to hinder gun trafficking.
Emanuel argues that the regulations on firearms will be as strict as Chicago can get legally speaking in order to restrain the city’s gun violence. Whether or not enforcing this ordinance in order to “take back [our] streets” will be beneficial, however, remains up in the air, and is bound to manifest in our city hereafter.
[via RedEye]