Days of Our Trailers already has this covered, so I'll just urge readers to give it a look. Must be nice to have the power to write yourself an exception to any draconian gun laws of which you happen to run afoul.
For those who appreciate irony, Richard Mell is, by the way, the father-in-law of rabidly anti-gun Public Official A . . . er, Governor Rod Blagojevich. Maybe the good Guv should borrow a page out of his father-in-law's book, and have some of his legislative allies draft some kind of exception to ethics laws--oops, never mind--I forgot that Rod has alienated most of the legislature.
UPDATE: And the hypocrisy spreads: now frothing-at-the-mouth-anti-gun Mayor Daley supports the idea: Mayor Daley said today he's all for the idea of temporarily re-opening gun registration in Chicago -- not as a favor to Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), but to get a realistic handle on the number of guns in Chicago. I was about to say "unbelievable," but, sadly, it is all too believable.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Chicago Alderman loophole
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3 comments:
With your IL connections and first-hand familiarity with the laws there, you're in a better position to get answers to these than I am. What laws have been broken?
Is he still in possession of the handgun or did he surrender it to the police pending disposition? If so, is he in violation of Chicago law or is there any grace period?
Does he have a residence outside of the restriction area?
Would he be able to allow a family member to hold it for him? Would that be a transfer requiring paperwork?
FOID implications?
I'm a long way from Chicago (thankfully), but it's my understanding that if he moved them out of Chicago (to, say, a friend or relative who holds a FOID card), he is not violating any law.
From the information we have, it seems unlikely that he moved the firearms before there was a violation (and I don't believe there is a grace period), but that would probably be difficult to prove, unless he still has the firearms in Chicago.
I don't believe he surrendered any firearms to the police, although he may have.
I don't know about property he might own outside of Chicago, but as I said, I believe someone with a FOID can "hold" firearms for him, without submitting any paperwork.
I really don't know if enough can be found to implicate him in any law-breaking--my angle is his attempt to pass an ordinance crafted to protect his own interests.
Actually, I just noticed that according to this, Mell does own property in Wisconsin:
"He has a home in Wisconsin. He brings 'em back and forth. He's not running out with a shotgun and hurting people," the mayor said.
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