Chicago Mayor Calls for Crackdown on Gun Sales

In tandem with a new report on gun crime in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed to track gun sales throughout the region and clamp down on gun retailers.

“This report shows the extent to which illegal guns are the leading factor in driving violence, the sources of those guns, and simple, reasonable steps we can take to curb the flow of illegal guns onto our streets,” Emanuel said in a statement accompanying the proposal. “The findings in this report demand action from each and every one of us.”

Emanuel’s proposal limits buyers to one handgun purchase per month, and demands that gun sales be videotaped.

The mayor noted that, although non-gun murder rates are comparable in New York and Los Angeles, Chicago’s gun homicide rate is three and two times higher in those cities, respectively.

The proposal is a response to a federal judge’s ruling in January that found the city’s total ban on gun shops to be unconstitutional.