From: Chuck Kuecker (ckuecker@mcs.net)
Date: Tue Jun 08 1999 - 16:39:17 MDT
At 07:50 AM 6/7/99 -0500, Joe E. Dees wrote:
>The shops are located in outlying suburban towns, out of Chicago's
>jurisdiction and strategically based to take maximum advantage of
>their citywide handgun ban. Unable to touch them any other way,
>Daley is suing them under the same regulations one would use
>against upstream river polluters, claiming that their toxic flow of
>handguns into the municipality is largely responsible for its
>unfortunate position as the murder capital of the US (536 of the 700
>people killed in Chicago in 1998 died from bullet wounds).
>
As far as the 'strategic' placing of gun shops, most of them have been
there forever, long before the city banned handguns. Any increase in
business is a normal side effect of a government ban - a grey market.
Daley's lawsuit is still a publicity stunt. There are perfectly good laws
to deal with people who sell to those without proper ID in Illinois - even
if they DON'T live in Chitown. If a dealer anywhere in Illinois sells to
someone without an FOID, they violate at least one state law, and can be
charged.
If one of the 'buyers' was found selling in Chicago, they could again be
charged, as handgun possession in the city is illegal.
The gun dealers are required under Federal law to inquire about the intents
of the purchaser, and must certify that in their opinion the buyer is of
reasonably good character. Again, if they sold to someone posing as a
criminal, they should have been arrested.
Unfortunately, just arresting these kinds of people and stopping their
actions does not aid Daley's aganda. He wants everyone disarmed, period. He
is willing to allow illegal and questionable sales to go on so he can point
to this activity and righteously scream for prohibitions.
Let's start enforcing what laws we have. Leave the publicity stunts for the
media.
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