Chicago to repeal gun registry

But gun control has made Chicago safe for so long! Yeah, I’m kidding.

Aldermen on Monday recommended the repeal of the Chicago’s gun registry as required under the state’s new concealed carry law, a move that would end a key piece of the city’s decades-long but ultimately unsuccessful effort to regulate handguns within its boundaries.

Revisions to the city’s gun-control ordinance endorsed by the Public Safety Committee would eliminate the decades-old registry, which was modified three years ago to require all handgun owners to get a permit after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the city’s handgun ban.

That setback to the city’s gun-control regime was exacerbated when a federal appellate court ruled late last year that Illinois needed to change its laws allow people to carry concealed handguns. The state’s new concealed carry law, which will be in full effect sometime next year, puts sole control of gun registration and permits in the hands of state government.

“The Chicago firearms’ permit requirements are gone,” National Rifle Association legislative liaison Todd Vandermyde declared after the committee action, which now goes to the full City Council for a vote on Wednesday.  “The registration of all firearms for the first time in my lifetime are gone from the city of Chicago.”

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It remains to be seen whether Garry McCarthy, the Windy City’s windy top cop, will back down from the threat that his officers will shoot concealed carriers. Considering that CPD officers are only required to pass a yearly range qualification that lasts not even an hour, I’d suggest they treat the concealed carry community with respect.

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