CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After nine months of debate, Cleveland City Council on Monday passed legislation that Mayor Frank Jackson says will encourage responsible gun ownership and help prevent firearms from ending up in the hands of criminals.

One of the provisions requires gun offenders to register with the city's safety department within five days of either being released from prison or moving to Cleveland.

Others replace the city's current gun ordinances with language that mirrors state law, including prohibitions against using a gun while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, defacing a gun's serial number or allowing a minor to use a gun without supervision.

The duplication allows police to charge offenders under the city code instead of the state statute, which means the city keeps any fines collected, Chief Counsel Rick Horvath told members of City Council's Finance Committee Monday.

The ordinance sets the following restrictions:

Prohibits carrying a concealed deadly weapon or handgun, unless the person is a police officer or a person who holds a license to carry a concealed weapon.

Requires a person who sells or transfers a gun, and who is not a licensed gun dealer, to report such transactions to police.

Requires an owner to report a lost or stolen gun to police.

Creates

Prohibits the display, marking or sale of a facsimile firearm and prohibits brandishing a facsimile firearm in the presence of law enforcement or with the intent to frighten people.

Prohibits the negligent transfer of a firearm to a felon or intoxicated person.

Sets restrictions for firearms in the hands of minors and restricts discharging firearms in public areas, including schools, churches, cemeteries, playgrounds and parks.

Requires owners to safely store firearms to keep them from being stolen or out of the hands of children.

The law passed nearly unanimously, with only Councilman Zack Reed voting against it.

Reed argued during the committee meeting Monday that the legislation is powerless to address gun violence in the city. He said that Chicago has even more restrictive gun laws, yet that city's homicide rate is as high as ever.

He challenged Horvath and Safety Director Michael McGrath to explain if any of the 25 homicides committed in Cleveland so far this year could have been prevented by the new law.

"The problem I have with this legislation is that you're giving me a shot of penicillin to get over the flu, but I'm dying of a gun shot wound," Reed said. "You brought the legislation to us to deal with this problem, but you can't tell us how. So you're just trying to appease us."

McGrath said that he knows, based on his years on the police force, that a high percentage of fatal shootings are committed by people with prior felonies, and many of the weapons used were stolen or acquired in straw purchases - all circumstances addressed under the new law.

He acknowledged, however, that he could make no guarantees about the law's efficacy.

"I'm asking you for the possibility of saving a life," McGrath said. "I can't guarantee it. But at least we're in the batter's box swinging the bat, instead of doing nothing. ... All we're doing here, sir, is trying to make a difference. I don't know what impact this ordinance will have but we're trying to move forward. We're trying to support the police officers and the community."

Councilman Michael Polensek said he would vote for the legislation but doesn't expect it to have an impact on the city's violent crime rate.

"So we pass this legislation tonight, but what does it really mean?" Polensek said. "I think there are going to be some people who think that as a result of this passage, things will dramatically change in this city. And they are not, because the bad guys are not turning in their guns. The bad guys are not registering. The kids who want to shoot indiscriminately on the street won't stop."

Council President Kevin Kelley said that the legislation was not designed to stop gun violence. Rather, it is a reflection of council's values and is good public policy intended to encourage responsible gun ownership, he said.

Councilman Matt Zone, who chairs the Safety Committee, said that the committee took into account the opinions of those who oppose the legislation and made amendments that do not change the overall goal of the ordinance.

For example, one amendment states that gun offenders whose convictions were expunged or sealed are exempt from the city's registration requirement. Another revision downgrades carrying a concealed weapon without a license to a minor misdemeanor if the offender can produce a valid license within 10 days after arrest.