Chicago aldermen on Wednesday unanimously passed what Mayor Rahm Emanuel said is a "tough, smart and enforceable" ordinance that allows gun shops within city limits but regulates where they can exist and mandates that all sales have a video record.
The video is intended to fight straw purchases -- where someone buys guns and sells them to others not authorized to buy weapons. In addition, firearms dealers will need to pay a $3,800 licensing fee and abide by a 72-hour waiting period for guns and a 12-hour waiting period for rifles and shotguns. A should will also only be able to sell one gun per month per buyer.
Furthermore, retailers would face zoning restrictions would not be permitted to exist within 500 feet of any school or park.
The 48-0 vote comes in advance of a court-ordered July 14 deadline to allow gun shops in the city. The mayor maintains the ordinance sets the toughest restrictions that can withstand further legal challenges.
Critics of the measure have said it's akin to the city's longtime ban. Richard Pearson, the executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, predicted last month that someone will sue the city over the new ordinance.
