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RICHARD M. DALEY
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
March 9, 201
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I transmit herewith a resolution urging the General Assembly to reject legislation limiting the local regulation of firearms.
Your favorable consideration of this resolution will be appreciated.
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, For many years the City of Chicago and other Illinois home rule units of local government have imposed reasonable regulations on the ownership, possession, sale and transportation of firearms and firearms ammunition including, in the case of Chicago, a firearms registration requirement that, from 1982 until last year, prohibited the registration of new handguns; and
WHEREAS, Over the past two years, a divided United States Supreme Court overturned decades of established jurisprudence, first by holding that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution bestowed a limited right upon individuals to possess handguns, then, in McDonald v. City of Chicago, by holding that the Second Amendment applies not just to the Federal Government but also to the states and local governments; and
WHEREAS, Although the State of Illinois has enacted several laws to regulate the sale, possession and transportation of firearms, the City Council of the City of Chicago concluded, after the US Supreme Court's decision in McDonald, that these laws are not sufficient to protect Chicago citizens from the unique and heightened risk of firearm violence, especially handgun violence, endemic in densely populated urban areas, and
WHEREAS, In order to provide for the ongoing protection of the public welfare and safety after the McDonald decision, the City Council ofthe City of Chicago held hearings, heard testimony and made a deliberate decision to pass an ordinance that provides for reasonable regulation of firearms in compliance with the rulings ofthe United States Supreme Court, and
WHEREAS, Specifically, the City Council am...
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