Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is calling for stricter gun control for Federal Firearms License holders (FFLs) in the city. The issue with his push is Illinois law already makes it illegal to sell a gun to someone who doesn’t have, or can’t get, the proper documentation to buy a gun. It also already forbids someone from obtaining a gun for any individual who cannot legally purchase one themselves.
The NRA-ILA says Illinois laws governing gun sales and transfers are some of the toughest in the nation. A violation of the Illinois law is a Class 4 felony that can result in up to three years in prison. The state laws says:
A person commits the offense of unlawful sale or delivery of firearms when he or she knowingly… Sells or transfers ownership of a firearm to a… person who does not display to the seller or transferal of the firearm either:
(1) a currently valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card that has previously been issued in the transferee’s name by the Department of State Police under the provisions of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act; or
(2) a currently valid license to carry a concealed firearm that has previously been issued in the transferee’s name by the Department of State Police under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.
And in addition to the rules barring sales to those not possessing a FOID card or concealed carry permit, another law–720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/24-3.5–bars individuals from buying guns for persons prohibited from buying them for themselves. The offense of unlawful purchase of a firearm is knowingly purchasing or attempting to purchase a firearm with the intent to deliver that firearm to another person who is prohibited by federal or State law from possessing a firearm. ATF form 4473 makes clear that the purchaser of the gun must also be the actual buyer of the gun.
Gun control and more regulations are not the answer to a city that has a staggering crime rate. As of Monday, April 24; 992 people have been shot in Chicago in 2017. Nevertheless, Mayor Emmanuel thinks more laws and regulations are in order.
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