One week after Chicago’s City Council passed new gun ordinances, a group of gun owners is suing over the law’s constitutionality.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court asks that the city's new gun control ordinance be declared "null and void."
The group, which includes the Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers, filed the lawsuit Tuesday, saying the new ordinance infringes on their constitutional rights. The plaintiffs want the city prohibited from enforcing the new measure.
Chicago aldermen passed the ordinance Friday, four days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Americans have the right to have handguns anywhere for self-defense. That ruling makes the city's 28-year-old ban on such weapons unenforceable.
The new ordinance, which is set to go into effect next week, includes the following rules:
The new law will go into effect in 10 days, at which time citizens will need to comply with the following stipulations:
- registration of no more than one handgun per month,
- two step process to own and register
- no ownership for anyone convicted of a violent crime
- no ownership for anyone with 2 or more DUIs
- no ownership for anyone convicted on a domestic violence charge
- bans assault weapons
- bans gun shops
- requires firearms safety training
- requires city firearms permit, state FOI card and registration with the Chicago Police Department.
