The city of Chicago has been dragged kicking and screaming into compliance with the US Constitution over the last few years. First their unconstitutional gun control scheme was struck down, then they were forced to accept concealed carry. In response, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel has reportedly started plotting a way to enact yet more restrictions on firearms ownership in the City of Big Shoulders. Specifically, Rahm is reportedly about to introduce 72-hour waiting periods for handguns, required quarterly reviews of all gun store records, and that every firearms sale in the city be recorded on video tape. “To discourage traffickers,” he says.
From the Chciago Tribune:
Under a plan Emanuel is preparing to introduce, gun dealers would videotape the sales “to discourage traffickers and buyers who use false identification,” according to a report from the city detailing the specifics of the ordinance.
In addition, the proposal would require a 72-hour waiting period for purchasing handguns and 24 hours for rifles and shotguns. A dealer would be able to sell only one handgun per month per buyer, and the store records would be subject to quarterly audits to discourage trafficking.
If a business license is revoked for failing to follow the law, “former key employees and managers cannot reopen immediately in the same location.”
The reason for the renewed interest in gun control laws isn’t just to satisfy his need for total control over his subjects, there’s a political side, too. The Tribune attributes these latest machinations to the mayor’s growing unpopularity in some communities due to the continued violence in Chicago’s streets and Rahm’s apparent impotence in doing anything about it. The people are screaming for Emanuel to do something to make them safer, and instead of hiring more police officers or other effective crime prevention methods, his idea is to pass another gun control law.
Even the Tribune knows that it won’t work, though.
It’s unclear to what extant the rules would curb Chicago’s gun violence, since many of the weapons used in crimes find their way into the city from stores in the suburbs, in Indiana or in southern states.
The problem isn’t firearms. Yes, guns are used in the commission of these crimes, but guns are readily available anywhere in the United States and only Chicago is seeing this level of violence. This is a cultural issue, a self-sustaining boiling pot of violence isolated to specific areas in the city of Chicago. But as always, the Democratic mayor wants to treat the symptom instead of the disease.
It won’t work. He knows it and we know it. Crime will continue despite these new restrictions. All they will accomplish is discouraging law abiding citizens from arming themselves and keeping them from being able to defend themselves and their families in an increasingly violent city. A year from now, when Chicago is still bleeding, Rahm will again blame the guns and continue to ignore the real issues. It’s all he knows how to do.