Chicago, Awash In Gun Violence, Gives Toronto Advice: You Need A Gun Ban Too

The Chicago mayor, first elected in 1989, was critical of last month’s United States Supreme Court decision that struck down Washington D.C.’s handgun ban. The court ruled the U.S. Constitution doesn’t permit banning handguns kept for self-defence in the home.

It’s difficult to say whether Chicago’s ban has had any practical effect. Murders have declined sharply since the 1992 peak of 943 – down last year to 442, in a city with a population a little larger than Toronto’s. But the murder rate of 15.6 per 100,000 remains one of the highest in the U.S., above that of New York and Los Angeles.

And there has been a recent spike in homicides. In a single weekend this spring, there were 36 shootings and nine people killed.

In defending the handgun ban, Daley said he is concerned about the safety of some city employees.

“How does it jeopardize our first responders – the ambulance and police? What does a first responder do? Does he or she know that you have 24 guns in your home, that your wife has 12 and that you have 12?”

Daley said handguns today are deadlier, so it’s even more urgent to keep them out of people’s homes.

“I’m just talking about guns in homes. You have drug problems, you have alcohol problems, you have mental health problems. You have children who maybe play with a gun, their parents aren’t home, and we have another death or serious injury.

“I’ve always believed we should restrict guns, especially handguns. I believe in less and less guns in society.”

Since the Supreme Court ruling, the National Rifle Association has filed lawsuits in Chicago as well as three other Illinois cities, Evanston, Morton Grove and Oak Park, seeking to overturn their handgun bans. The NRA has said it will also challenge some restrictions built into Washington, D.C.’s new law that allows handgun ownership.