Chicago Mayor Wants to Video Gun Sales

Chicago could require gun dealers to videotape sales and ban gun stores near schools and parks under Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s latest attempt to heavily regulate firearms sales following a federal court ruling that tossed out the city’s outright ban on gun sales.

In addition, the proposal would require a 72-hour waiting period for purchasing handguns and 24 hours for rifles and shotguns. A dealer would be able to sell only one handgun per month per buyer, and the store records would be subject to quarterly audits to discourage trafficking.

Gun retailers will require special use permits, would only be allowed in areas with a few commercial zoning designations and they would not be allowed within 500 feet of a school or park, according to Janey Rountree, Emanuel’s deputy chief of staff for public safety. Because of those tight rules, gun stores would only be eligible to set up in spots that comprise about 0.5 percent of Chicago’s geographic area, she told the Chicago Tribune .

“Now that we’re required to allow gun sales within the city limits, we do it in a way that does not undermine our public safety goals,” said Emanuel, speaking at the police department’s annual awards ceremony.