- Rich Hein/Sun-Times Media
- Some of the 7,444 illegal guns Chicago police say they recovered last year.
Illinois lawmakers advanced legislation this week that would ban military-caliberstyle guns as well as magazines that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. The moves came in response to the Newtown massacre—and to the end of another bloody year in the streets of Chicago.
Chicago already has the most restrictive firearm laws in the country: handgun owners must undergo three background checks, take a training class, practice shooting at a range, and register with the police department.
- Gun rights advocates decry the restrictions at the city and state level, arguing that they merely make it difficult for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves. But available data suggest that the laws haven’t stopped people from acquiring guns—legally or illegally.
For starters, state police struggle to cope with the volume of FOID card applications. Police had little time to confirm that applicants were providing valid information, and they didn’t prosecute those caught lying. Revoked cards were never recovered, raising the possibility that prohibited gun owners were still able to buy ammunition.
Meanwhile, researchers have determined that most of the guns used in crimes in Chicago were originally acquired from legal dealers in Illinois, then resold illegally.
In the long term, though, reducing bloodshed “entails improving the social, economic, and educational opportunities in our most disadvantaged neighborhoods. If we want to break cycles of violence, we need to address the underlying and enduring causes.”
