Richard Daley, the mayor of Chicago when the city banned handguns more than two decades ago, says the nation "must seize this rare moment of shared outrage" and move forward with stronger gun regulations at the federal level.
"If thousands of young people were harmed each year by household products, Americans would clamour for regulation. We chide other nations for landmines, child labour and sex trafficking. But when it comes to guns, we have a blind spot," he wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday in The Financial Times referencing the massacre in Newtown, Conn.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel's predecessor said he pushed for a number of reforms, such as licensing gun dealers and mandatory criminal background checks, only to have them shot down or ultimately be ineffective because of their limited scope.
The outright ban on handguns in the city, chipped away with a 2010 Supreme Court ruling, was ultimately deemed unconstitutional.
Daley called President Barack Obama's gun reform proposals "commonsense," and without mentioning Sen. Mark Kirk by name seemed to embrace legislation he's put forth with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) that would make gun trafficking a federal crime.
"We must not forget the victims," wrote Daley. "Perhaps the voices and faces of tens of thousands of victims and their families will bring us to our senses."
FT.com: U.S. Must Side With Its Young Not Its Guns
