“Handguns are just as legal in Chicago as they are in Dallas,” said John Donohue III, a law professor at Stanford University. These improvements include banning the sale of high-capacity magazines and passing firearms legislation. The gun control group also suggested that Illinois could ban the manufacture and sale of “ghost guns,” guns that law enforcement can`t prosecute because they don`t have serial numbers — an issue Illinois has since addressed in a state law this year. Others have claimed that guns are illegal in Chicago. At the National Rifle Association convention in Houston on May 27, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said, “Gun bans don`t work. Discover Chicago. If they worked, Chicago wouldn`t be the deadly hell it has been for too long. CHICAGO (WLS) – Every day and night, a behind-the-scenes shootout between law enforcement and criminals takes place on the Chicago subway to track the flow of illegal guns, track down and arrest the people who use them, and ultimately disrupt a supply chain that authorities want to slow down. In Illinois, it is illegal to possess a throwing star or ballistic knife. A knife with a blade more than 3 inches (76 mm) long is considered a dangerous weapon, and it is illegal to carry such a knife with the intent to harm the well-being of another person.
[136] [137] The claim also spread on social media. One Twitter user wrote in a May 26 tweet: “Guns are illegal in Chicago. Chicago has big gun crimes every weekend. Explain that to me, libs. The post received more than 16,000 likes. But the suggestion that all types of guns are illegal in Chicago is false. Chicago has banned the possession of certain semi-automatic firearms, which it defines as assault weapons, as well as laser sights. [74] [75] Chicago residents must “immediately” report the theft or loss of a firearm and report the transfer of a firearm within 48 hours of the transfer. [76] In a dwelling where a person under the age of 18 is present, all weapons must be secured with a trigger bolt or stored in a locked container or attached to the body of the rightful owner. [77] Eight years ago, Illinois was the last state to allow concealed porting, while other laws had been relaxed in previous years. In 2010, the U.S.
Supreme Court struck down a 1982 ban on handguns in Illinois, and three years later, Chicago ended its gun registry. In 2014, a judge lifted Chicago`s ban on gun sales. To purchase or possess a Taser or stun gun, a Firearms Owner Identification Card (FOID) is required. There is a 24-hour waiting period between purchase and possession. [4] [63] On March 21, 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the ban on carrying Tasers or stun guns in public violated the Second Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. The court found that Tasers and stun guns are not covered by the state`s concealed carrying laws. Since Tasers and stun guns are less lethal than firearms, they are entitled to at least as much legal protection. [64] [65] Indiana is often referred to as the No.
1 cited source for out-of-state firearms used in crimes in Cook County. In 2017, a report commissioned by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel analyzed four years of gun tracking data and found that 60 percent of illegally used or possessed guns in Chicago came from overseas. Indiana was the main source of about one in five guns. In 95% of cases, the person with the firearm was not the original purchaser. The state law, introduced after a February 2019 shooting in an Aurora suburb that left five dead and six wounded, also accuses an Illinois State Police Task Force of taking guns from people whose FOID cards were revoked but did not surrender their weapons. and streamlining the renewal process for FOID cards and secret port permits. AP`s assessment: False. Although Chicago has strict gun laws, it is not illegal to own most firearms, including handguns, in the city. Weapons considered “assault weapons,” such as some semi-automatic rifles, and “ghost weapons,” which are privately manufactured firearms without serial numbers, are prohibited in the city. It is illegal to sell, import or manufacture a handgun “that has a barrel, cursor, frame or receiver that is a die-cast zinc alloy or other inhomogeneous metal that melts or deforms at a temperature below 800 degrees Fahrenheit.” Private sales are exempt from this restriction and it is legal to possess such a weapon.
[1] [70] [71] On July 9, 2013, Illinois enacted the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, which established a system of authorization for concealed carrying of firearms. Another provision of this law is the state`s right of first refusal for “the regulation, licensing, possession and registration of handguns and ammunition for a handgun, and the transportation of firearms and ammunition.” This struck down Chicago`s requirements for gun registration and for an additional license to possess firearms. [19] [133] In 2021, Chicago filed a lawsuit against a gun store in northern Indiana, claiming that more than 850 illegal firearms found in Chicago could be traced back to a single gun store in Gary, an establishment that the city said ignored obvious signs of so-called straw buying. Chicago later banned the sale of handguns, but a 2014 Federal Court decision also made that decision unconstitutional. Laws were further relaxed when Illinois became the last state in the country to legalize concealed wearing in 2014. The Tribune`s Annie Sweeney reported on 2021 crime statistics, analyzing data from the Chicago Police Department, information from other law enforcement agencies, and the Cook County Coroner`s Office. Sweeney noted that in 2021, Chicago experienced one of the deadliest years in at least a quarter century. More than 1,000 homicides here were gun-related, the coroner`s office said. The vast majority of murders in the city — more than 90 percent — were the result of gun violence, according to statistics. In total, there were at least 4,300 gunshot victims, including those with fatal and non-fatal injuries, according to CPD data.
This number represents a significant increase from 2018, when 2,800 people were shot. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defines “straw purchase” as the illegal purchase of a firearm by one person for another. Chicago banned handgun ownership within city limits in 1982, but in 2010 the Supreme Court declared the city`s restrictions unconstitutional. The verdict in this case – McDonald v. Chicago – was similar to the decision of the District of Columbia v. Heller, who had lifted the ban on gun ownership in Washington, D.C. two years earlier. “This trend also underscores Chicago`s challenge to combat illicit guns in the sparsely regulated domestic firearms market,” the report said. Gorka also claimed that all guns — not just handguns — are illegal in Chicago. The remaining 60 percent of guns come from overseas, with Indiana being the top source of one in five murder weapons. Data from ATF Trace shows that the top five states where guns found in Illinois were originally purchased are Illinois (49.8%), Indiana (16.7%), Missouri (5.4%), Wisconsin (3.9%) and Kentucky (2.6%).
Federal ATF officials identified the source state of 11,708 tracked firearms in 2020. If a coroner, law enforcement officer or qualified school administrator determines that a firearms owner`s mental state makes him or her a “clear and present danger” to themselves or others, they must report it to the Illinois State Police Department (ISP) within 24 hours. The ISP can then revoke the person`s Firearms Owner Identification Card (FUID), which does not legally allow them to legally possess firearms. [4] [68] State police issued permits for concealed carrying handguns to qualified applicants 21 years of age and older who complete 16 hours of training. However, any law enforcement agency may object to the licensing of a person “on the basis of reasonable suspicion that the applicant poses a danger to himself or herself or others, or a threat to public safety.” .