Chicago approves tough new handgun rules

CHICAGO - The Chicago City Council on Friday approved what city officials say is the strictest handgun ordinance in the United States, but not before lashing out at the Supreme Court ruling they contend makes the city more dangerous because it will put more guns in people's hands.

The new ordinance bans gun shops in Chicago and prohibits gun owners from stepping outside their homes, even onto their porches or in their garages, with a handgun.

It becomes law in 10 days, Corporation Counsel Mara Georges said.

The vote comes just four days after the high court ruled Americans have the right to have handguns anywhere for self-defence - a ruling that makes the city's 28-year-old ban on such weapons unenforceable.

"I wish that we weren't in the position where we're struggling to figure out a way in which we can limit the guns on our streets and still meet the test that our Supreme Court has set for us," said Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, minutes before the council voted 45-0 to approve the ordinance.

It was swift action for a council that typically takes far longer to pass ordinances, but Mayor Richard Daley - who promised the city would not "roll over" if the court ruled against the city's handgun ban - clearly wanted to give police a law they could begin enforcing as quickly as possible.

"You have to get the tools to the police," Daley said.

And even though the ban remains in effect until it is struck down by an appellate court, Georges said it was important to pass a new law to clear up confusion Chicagoans might have about what kind of weapons they can legally own and how they can use them.

Some residents applauded the vote.

"There's just too much killing going on (and) we need protection," said Mary Fitts, a retiree who came from her home on the South Side to watch the vote. "You can't even sit on your front porch."

But gun rights opponents quickly criticised Daley and the City Council and promised lawsuits.

Todd Vandermyde, a lobbyist with the National Rifle Association in Illinois, would not say when lawsuits might be filed.

But he said the ordinance would be attacked on a number of fronts - including requiring prospective gun owners to pay $15 for each firearm registered, $100 every three years for a Chicago Firearms Permit, not to mention the cost of the required training - saying they all add up to discrimination against the poor.

"How are some people in some of the poorer neighbourhoods who merely want to have firearms for self-defence supposed to afford to get through all this red tape?" he asked.

David Lawson, one of the plaintiffs in the case decided by the Supreme Court this week, agreed. He wondered if a challenge could be raised over the issue of training, saying it's unfair to require training but prohibit that training from taking place in the city.

Daley and Georges said they expect lawsuits but that they were confident they could withstand legal challenges.

- AP