Chicago may severely limit the number of handguns that can be kept in a single home and ban gun dealers within city limits in the wake of Monday's landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that gutted the city’s handgun ban, City Hall’s top attorney said today. The court's ruling “did not say that a person is entitled to more than one handgun, and one handgun is sufficient for self defense,” Corporation Counsel Mara Georges told aldermen at a City Council committee meeting. “We believe that a limitation on the number of handguns to one per person per residence would be consistent with the Supreme Court’s decisions.” Limiting handguns could save lives, Georges said, in keeping with comments made Monday by her boss, Mayor Richard Daley.

“Reducing the number of handguns in Chicago is critical to public safety,” Georges said. “Handguns are overwhelmingly the cause of firearm deaths and injuries in Chicago. Handguns were used in 402 of 412 firearms homicides in Chicago in 2008. That’s 98 percent of the firearms homicides.”



The Supreme Court decision held that it is a citizen’s fundamental right to keep a handgun in the home for self protection. But the Chicago ruling and a previous decision related to a Washington, D.C. ban, saw justices state that some gun-control laws are allowed, provided they are “reasonable.”



Limiting handguns would comply with the decisions, Georges said. Part of the goal is to prevent straw purchases, limit suicides and make it less likely one family member will hurt another, either accidentally or intentionally.



“The same concerns that motivate a one handgun per person per residence limit — reducing the number of guns in circulation in Chicago and the risk of illegal traffic in guns — motivate the gun dealer ban,” she added. “Gun dealers have access to large quantities of guns. Gun stores therefore pose a serious risk of guns flowing quickly into the community and into the hands of criminals through theft or through illegal trafficking.”



She went on to say that there are 45 gun stores within 13 miles of the city.



“It is clear that Chicago residents who would like to own a gun for self defense in the home have a wide array of options very close to the city at which to purchase their handgun,” she said. “There is no need for more gun dealers in the area and certainly not in Chicago. With so many gun dealers located so close to Chicago, adding more stores to the mix by allowing dealers in Chicago could cause an increase in firearms crimes and homicides within the city.”

Police Supt. Jody Weis suggested firearms training would be included in the new ordinance.



“We will continue our efforts to reduce the amount of violence by vigorously ensuring that only people who are trained and authorized to have firearms possess them,” Weis told aldermen. “Now that the court has give us their ruling and people will be allowed to register handguns, we want to ensure the public that we will do all we can to regulate handguns and that only people who pass a background check and are trained and qualified to register a firearm will be allowed to do so.”



Both Weis and Georges suggested a requirement that handguns be safely secured in the home could be part of the new ordinance.



“We know that the presence of unlocked guns in the home increases the risk of both accidental gun injuries and intentional shootings,” Weis said. “It is therefore important to make it unlawful to store or leave a firearm or ammunition where a minor under the age of 18 may gain access. A firearm should be secured by a trigger lock or similar device or placed in a securely locked box or container.”

The committee won't be voting any new gun measures today as City Hall works to make sure whatever new laws are passed can survive legal challenges.

Georges' remarks came the day after the Supreme Court concluded that the 2nd Amendment grants a fundamental right to keep a handgun in the home for protection. The 5-4 ruling gutted longstanding gun bans in Chicago and Oak Park. The matter is now expected to be sent back to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where a final ruling will be entered. But the city hopes to have new gun regulations in place by then to render the matter legally irrelevant, Georges said.Earlier today, Georges said a requirement that handguns must be registered in the city will definitely be in the new ordinance. The city also is considering requirements that gun owners undergo training, submit to a criminal-background check and obtain liability insurance, she said.Also under consideration are ballistics testing or “stamping” of each weapon so spent ammunition can be traced back to a specific gun. “We’ve looked at an assault weapons ban, that’s something our current ordinance contains,” she added. “I think it makes sense to continue an assault weapons ban, to continue allowing only certain kinds of weapons and prohibiting others, prohibiting certain kinds of ammunition.”