Sunday, December 23, 2012

How Are Those Gun Laws in Chicago Working?

We've talked about Chicago an awful lot at SBPDL. We've talked about Newtown, Connecticut a lot as well. A number of people across this nation are for gun control, believing that restricting gun ownership will deter criminality and mass-murder. Well, what do the gun laws in Chicago look like?[City's gun law has little firepower ,Chicago Reader,6-16-2011]:
Marty Zamora will be the first to tell you he's a gun guy—he owns seven handguns and four rifles. He likes to shoot at a suburban range for sport, but he says that's not the main reason he has them.
"Everybody on my block has been robbed but me," says Zamora, a longtime resident of Pilsen who works for the city's Department of Streets and Sanitation. "The gangbangers, they know I've got guns, and I don't get messed with."
Zamora says he's carefully complied with state regulations, which require him to register for a Firearm Owner's Identification Card and to undergo background checks each time he buys a gun. He's taken training classes, and so have his wife and son. But none of Zamora's firearms are registered with the Chicago Police Department, though they're supposed to be under the city's gun law. He says he doesn't trust the city's motives.
"Why should I go register with the city and later have a guy knock at my door saying, 'Hey, can we see your gun?'"
The registration requirement was the central part of a strict gun law hastily passed by the City Council at the behest of then-Mayor Richard Daley last July, just four days after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively knocked down Chicago's 28-year-old handgun ban. Politically, at least, the city's gun-control regulations have been a central part of its public safety policy, and Daley stressed that it was essential to collect data on where gun owners live so that first responders know when they're approaching a location where weapons are present.
But nearly a year later, only a fraction of city gun owners have signed up, and critics say the law is more about politics than sound policy.
Despite potential penalties of $5,000 in fines or 90 days in jail, the city's law appears to have little sway over those who've registered with the state to own or possess a firearm. Of the 116,173 Chicagoans who have FOID cards, only 2.7 percent have registered a gun with the city.
In fairness, not everyone with a FOID card actually owns a gun, and many Chicago gun-owners are exempt from city registration, including cops, security guards, correctional officers, active duty military, and rifle-owners who registered before the city law went into effect. City officials could not say how many gun-owners are exempt.
There are also thousands of additional guns in the city whose owners haven't followed any sort of legal process—last year, for example, Chicago police seized an average of more than 20 illegal firearms a day.
Nor is the law functioning to screen out anyone prohibited from owning weapons—including people convicted of a violent crime, DUI, or gun offense—because only qualified applicants bother to go through the process. Through mid-May just 68 gun permit applications, or 2 percent, were not approved.
Police officials continue to say the law has helped keep cops safe. "When officers are dispatched to the residence of a gun registrant, notification is given of this fact so that officers may prepare to enter this location with an increased likelihood of weapons," a spokeswoman said in a written statement issued in response to questions. "The presence of a weapon is going to escalate the risk of an officer charged with restoring peace to a situation, so this information is vital."
But other cops I've spoken to dismiss the notion that the law aids their day-to-day work. "Since the registration began, it has changed absolutely nothing in the way we police," says one veteran officer who doesn't want to be named for fear of a run-in with higher-ups. He says cops don't usually access the registration data—he has never seen it himself—but doubted it would make a huge difference if they did. "Police officers are trained to assume there's a gun there, whether it's a traffic stop or a domestic call."
What's more, Chicago's gun law is rarely used to lock up offenders because state and federal statues carry much heavier penalties. Just 79 people a year, on average, have been convicted of violating city gun ordinances since 1982, Dan Mihalopoulos and I reported last year in a story for the Chicago News Cooperative. "It's just an extra ticket you can hit them with," says the cop. "But the bad guys are not getting their guns legitimately and they're never going to."
Andrew Papachristos, a sociologist at the University of Massachusetts who studies gangs and gun crimes in Chicago, argues that gun laws should focus on the people perpetuating violence and the illegal ways they're getting weapons. "We're not talking about your father's guns—we're talking about guns used in crimes," he says. "It's the felons in possession of guns—that's really where the efforts should be."
The new law was supposed to help on that front as well. It requires that anyone convicted of a city, state, or federal gun law offense report it to the police department along with contact information, a photograph, and a copy of their driver's license.
Offenders who don't comply can be jailed up to six months. In turn, the police department is directed to "create and maintain" a registry of the offenders.
But so far none of this has been done, according to 14th Ward alderman Ed Burke, a former cop who advocated for the provision last year. "We envisioned that, just like sex offenders have to register, that gun offenders should have to register, and we'd create a different violation if they didn't," Burke told newly installed police
superintendent Garry McCarthy during a City Council hearing last week. "It probably wouldn't surprise you that, like so many bureaucracies, this has yet to be implemented."
McCarthy vowed to make it happen. "I'm a big believer in it," he said.
Still, the new administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel has sent mixed messages about its gun control policies. As mayor, Daley was an unbending supporter of gun control. He regularly responded to news of violent flare-ups by calling for tougher gun laws at the state and federal levels, and he answered reporters' questions about violence with rants about guns, gun manufacturers, the NRA, and Supreme Court justices who didn't see things his way.
In the list of goals Emanuel released shortly before taking office, he promised to "strictly" enforce the city's gun law. But the mayor's press office avoided answering questions about the gun law for this story, instead issuing a statement: "The Mayor is committed to carrying the fight against illegal guns to Washington DC and Springfield until every illegal gun is off Chicago's streets."
McCarthy, however, has indicated he doesn't share Daley's gun control zeal. "I think that we have abolitionists on one side and NRA and those kind of folks on the other side, and frankly it's too polarizing a debate," McCarthy told aldermen. "I think that we can protect the Second Amendment rights of people to bear firearms while at the same time preventing the illegal flow of firearms into our urban centers."
McCarthy praised the CPD's "incredible job" getting guns out of criminals' hands but added, "That's not good enough. The question is, what do we do after that?"
The police chief didn't get into specifics, and aldermen didn't ask him for any. But most are unwilling to talk about changing the existing law.
"Hopefully people will do the right thing and do the registrations like they're supposed to," says Ninth Ward alderman Anthony Beale, who helped shepherd the law through the council last year. "But if they're not, we need to promote it." 
 How are those gun laws working out for Chicago?

19 comments:

Mr. Rational said...

Before you ask "how are those gun laws working for XXX" you have to be more specific than "Chicago".  New York's Sullivan act disarmed the citizens (bad for them) and made life safe for Sullivan's street criminals (good for them) and the police, who had even more power and authority.  Based on this, we can make a few educated guesses about how Chicago's gun laws have worked out for folks:

· The Chicago Democratic machine likes it a lot, because they can dispense favors by granting or withholding police protection.
· The CPD likes it, because they can get away with more corruption.
· The street crooks and Black assault mobs love it, because it lets them rob and beat people with impunity knowing that the penalties levied on citizens who shot them would be much harsher than they'd ever get for TNB.
· Liberals get a self-righteous tingle because they believe all wrong-thinking people should be controlled.  They don't see crime as a major issue.
· Regular victims of crime and harassment aren't doing so well.

Mark T. said...

I wonder if Jesse Jackson Jr. has relinquished his Firearm Owner's Identification Card yet? After all, for a Liberal politician that rails against gun ownership, he is known to hold a FOIC and several firearms, not to mention those of his bodyguards. If I recall correctly, those folks with "psychological issues" (his reason for resigning his Illinois office) are not permitted to own weapons for everyone's safety. Or is there a double standard in effect?

Jay Santos said...

Funny thing about the average American, circa 2012, they would have no idea how to fabricate a magazine. It certainly would require the use of tools. Ah, but who has tools, I mean other than a bent screwdriver. Some type of material would be employed, maybe glass, or maybe recycled cardboard? Who knows really? I'll bet there's a spring involved, but how to make a spring?

Ah, forget it, it's all too hard. Let's get back to the football game!

Mutant Swarm said...

"...He regularly responded to news of violent flare-ups by calling for tougher gun laws at the state and federal levels, and he answered reporters' questions about violence with rants about guns, gun manufacturers, the NRA, and Supreme Court justices who didn't see things his way..." (Emphasis added.)

There's really only one "tougher" gun law left, isn't there? The one that says in essence, "hand them over or else."

And how are those gun laws working for Chicago? Probably about as well as California's so-called "assault weapons" ban, I'd guess.

Anonymous said...

WHY would I tell the police there was a gun in my house if it meant they would knock on my door MORE prepared to do me harm?!?...

Anonymous said...

Isn't that ironic all the zero tolerance gun ban glorious socialist utopias are some of the worst places to live and most dangerous.

Anonymous said...

A few years ago in the Shits, that is real South Side Irish slang for the ghetto, they had billboards and transit all over the place in the Shits warning they were going to enforce the federal law that felons get ten years for having possesion of a gun and it appears that nothing really happened. The Shits are more dangerous than ever. The felons that have the guns are doing even more crime. It is not a gun issue rather than a culture issue as muttbreeding is causing this ependemic level of crime. Thank LBJ for the next robbery or killing due to the great society program.

Anonymous said...

I know mine aren't registered. On top of that, the fees to do so are ridiculous. A FOID is easy, $10 for 10 years and a 2 - 3 month wait to get the card. Chicago requires training which costs $150-$200, a $100 application fee, $15 per firearm fee. Registration needs to be renewed every year, which means even more fees. Plus even if I wanted to register I couldn't due to the assault weapon bans, since my rifle has a pistol grip and my pistol has a threaded barrel.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to say, "not very well."

But I'm also going to say this: It's not a liberal problem, it's not a big oil problem, not a sexual gender or preference problem, not a gun or video game problem. It's a "negro roaming about freely" problem.

Yeah, I know the mass shooter was a non-negro. Anomaly.

The Engineer

Don M said...

Its getting crazy here in the DC area.

These sanctimonious c-nts are working themselves into a religious fervor over a new assault weapons ban. Just the other day some Marxist, Catholic padre marched a troop of window lickers down to a gun store, carrying signs and haranguing customers.

Other denominations are probably just as fervent. When the clergy gets wholesale involved in softheaded crusades, lookout! They can be enormously damaging; just ask South Africans.

Although a part of me says let 'em push for ban and the more draconian the better. It can only help nudge people towards the sole logical and peaceable solution: partition of the country and geographical realignment of the populace according to political beliefs.

Lily White said...

Q: "How are those gun laws in Chicago working?"

A: "Precisely as they were intended. Making criminals and thugs safer and innocent people less so."

Anonymous said...

Guns don't kill people.... young feral blacks with no impulse control kill people.

uziman said...

Four firefighters shot, two dead, responding to blaze just outside Rochester, NY. Can't wait to see the offenders.

Anonymous said...

What I get from this article is this: liberals know their goofy gun policies are a failure. They are possibly also aware that their whole belief system is a failure. They just have to keep fooling the sheeple.

Anonymous said...

For SBPDL readers old enough to remember: Who recalls the MSM's obsession with SA's evil apartheid?

So now that apartheid has been dismantled, and SA is under black rule, is there any mention, EVER, of the abysmal state that SA has sunk into? In particular, why is there a media blackout about the war being waged against SA's white farmers?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_farm_attacks

http://sarahmaidofalbion.blogspot.com/2012/08/another-south-african-hate-crime.html

Mr. Rational said...

now that apartheid has been dismantled, and SA is under black rule, is there any mention, EVER, of the abysmal state that SA has sunk into? In particular, why is there a media blackout about the war being waged against SA's white farmers?

Admitting that Black people can commit hate crimes or human-rights violations would "reinforce negative stereotypes".  Even if true, it's taboo.

Anonymous said...

As blacks are responsible for the vast majority of murders, rapes, robberies and muggings, this isnt a gun control problem- this is a negro control problem. With the niggers being allowed to run wild and rampant, getting rid of all the guns in the country would do no good at all- they'd just use knives, clubs and other weapons to commit their crimes. That and mob attacks. Machetes or panga's are quiet popular in Africa for slicing up innocent people.
The weapons being used aren't the problem- it's the people who are using them. Guns make it easier for them to inflict their carnage but even without the guns, the carnage would go on.
As stated on another website, A black plague is descending upon civilization and that plague is called the nigger.
It will only grow worse as the DWL's and the MSM enablers of negro dysfunction keep up their propaganda efforts to portray negro's as "just like us" while ignoring the reality of negro pathologies.
To answer another poster's question- yes, I'm old enough to remember how the MSM and all the libtards organized a concerted effort to destroy South Africa. They're doing the same thing to western countries now. The libtards are the greatest enemy of civilization and the nigger is their weapon of choice and only function as useful idiots. However, as a destructive biological weapon, the negro is very effective and can destroy a neighborhood, a city or a nation in no time. All funded, supported and enabled by DWL's and their policies and paid for by the oblivious taxpayer.
The only question that remains is "Will the sheeple wake up to the reality in time to prevent the destruction of their nation or will they quietly let it all be flushed down the toilet?"

Anonymous said...

we're in way too deep now. Leftists make no secret about their desire to destroy all Whitopias. The establishment Right has completely given up trying to go on the offensive regarding any racial/ethnic issues and is completely at the whims of the Left. There are just way too many people that are way too brainwashed to save our country. Best case scenario is non-parasites will be able to form our own nation after the inevitable crash and civil war.

City resident said...

The major problem with most gun laws is that they are basically dishonest. The real intent is to discourage people from achieving approval for one. Also, they are written by bureaucratic know-nothings who come up with impractical schemes that do nothing. None of these shooters in Chicago have legal weapons. Why, if someone was going to commit homicide, would they be concerned with something like a gun law? Many years into the drug war we have more drugs than ever before. If there's a demand a supply will follow.