Mayor Rahm Emanuel continued to support stronger gun safety legislation and endorsed a series of measures introduced by State Senator Antonio Munoz and State Rep. Edward Acevedo to the Illinois General Assembly that restrict sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, increase penalties for straw purchasers and require that gun owners report to the State Police when a handgun is lost or stolen.

“We need common-sense laws that protect our children, our families and our communities,” said Mayor Emanuel. “The start of a new General Assembly is another opportunity for lawmakers across the state to recognize the damage guns do to our neighborhoods and come together to protect our residents from illegal guns and high-capacity magazines and assault weapons designed for battlefields.”

The City of Chicago has a handgun registration requirement, but according to a recent study by the University of Chicago Crime Lab, the majority of illegal handguns arrive in Chicago from elsewhere in the state.  From 2005-2010, 56 percent of short-time-to-crime guns recovered at Chicago crime scenes were traced back to sources within the State of Illinois, but outside of Chicago.

“We cannot allow the proliferation of guns and the damage they cause in our communities to continue. We must take swift action to stop this violence, especially to the straw purchasing that allows criminals to obtain weapons,” Mayor Emanuel said.

According to the Chicago Police Department, many straw purchases are done within Cook County.

The Chicago Police Department confiscated 302 guns thus far in 2013, and more than 7,400 including nearly 300 assault weapons, in 2012.  The 2012 total is nine times as many guns as New York City and three times as many as Los Angeles.  

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