Daley Backs Mell's Amnesty

By Kevin Robinson in News on May 21, 2008 9:57PM

Mayor Daley announced yesterday that he is behind Dick Mell's proposed ordinance to reopen gun registration in Chicago, creating a one-month amnesty for gun owners who forgot to re-register. The mayor says he's doing it for hunters with summer homes out of state, not the alderman. "A lot of people go back and forth to their summer homes ... A lot of people move their shotguns. A lot of 'em are bird hunters, gun collectors. ... They move 'em back from Wisconsin, Michigan, [other] parts of Illinois," the mayor told the Sun-Times. "It's one time [for] one month ... You want to have 'em register. There's nothing wrong with that ... People want to just register. A lot of 'em bring 'em back from hunting trips. So, why not?"

The city's ban on handguns, as well as the requirement that owners of all existing firearms register their weapons each year, was pushed through the city council in 1982 after assassination attempts on both President Reagan and Pope John Paul II. The number of registered firearms has declined steadily since then, although the number of illegal guns in Chicago has not. When asked if supporting the registration amnesty sent the wrong message at a time when gun-related homicides are up, they mayor replied "no, it doesn't."

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