Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois Rifle Association, said his organization would be reviewing the proposal today to determine with Supreme Court guidelines for “reasonable” gun control. “It can’t be onerous, it can’t be too expensive,” he said. “It can’t be impossible for the average person to do.” Pearson said the city had backed off on limiting the number of handguns to one per qualified person per home and mandating that each handgun owner obtain liability insurance.

City Hall's fast response is aimed at curbing the proliferation of firearms in the city comes after Monday's Supreme Court decision that effectively gutted Chicago's longstanding gun ban.

The vote in favor of the gun measure came a couple hours after Mayor Richard Daley unveiled a new ordinance that would require gun owners to register their weapons with the city, get training and keep all but one firearm locked up.

The City Council Police and Fire Committee today quickly approved a new set of gun control regulations that for the first time in decades would legally allow Chicago residents to keep handguns in their homes for self protection.

The details:

*Under Daley's ordinances, handgun owners would need to register all their guns with the city so police know how many weapons are in each home, and would also be required to have a valid Firearm Owner's ID card.

*It requires firearms training, both in a classroom and a firing range.

*Chicago residents would be able to register no more than one handgun per month for each adult in a home. The ordinance "generally prohibits the possession of a handgun by any person except in the person's home," according to a city news release.

*Only one firearm can be kept in immediately operable condition in each home. Other guns must be broken down or have trigger locks in place.

*Assault weapons are banned, as is the possession of ammunition by anyone who does not have a valid FOID card and registration for a gun of the same caliber.

*Applicants must be at least 21 years old, unless a parent signs for a child age 18 or older.

*To protect the city against costs for a lawsuit in case a police officer shoots an armed person while responding to a home, Daley also said the city will pursue legislation at the state and federal levels granting liability immunity for first responders and the city.

*The ordinance bars anyone from possessing a handgun outside a home, which excludes garages, outdoor areas, hotel rooms and group-living quarters.



*Would-be gun owners must take a training course with a minimum of one hour on the range and four hours in the classroom before obtaining a permit to a keep a weapon in the home.



*The ordinance prohibits sawed-off shotguns, assault weapons and “unsafe” handguns.



*It also requires guns kept in homes with minors under age 18 to be secured when they are not in the possession of the owner.



*Penalties for not complying with the proposed law range from $1,000 to 90 days in jail.



*And, as proposed by powerful Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, the new ordinance would create a gun-offender registry to be posted on line by the police department. Anyone convicted of unlawful use or illegal possession of a weapon would be required to register with the police for a four-year period.

*Each individual is entitled to have one “firearm assembled and operable in the home. All other firearms kept or possessed by that person in his home shall be broken down in a non-functioning state or shall have a trigger lock or other mechanism, other than the firearm safety mechanism, designed to render the firearm temporarily inoperable.”



*If there is someone in home under age 18 who “is likely to gain access to the firearm,” a gun must be in the owner’s possession, fitted with a safety mechanism rendering it inoperable or unloaded with the ammunition in a securely locked container.



*To register handguns, a resident must first get a “Chicago Firearm Permit” from the police department. A permit would cost $100 every three years.



*People who have been convicted of a violent crime, two or more driving-under-the-influence charges or unlawful use of a firearm could not get a permit.



*Once obtained, residents must then register each weapon. That would cost $15 every three years per weapon.

