In a unique approach to gun reform, a community coalition of Chicago residents affected by gun violence sued three municipalities on the edge of the City of Chicago earlier this year.
The lawsuit was unprecedented: a civil rights case to force the villages to enact harsher laws because gun shops in their jurisdiction sold many of the guns involved in violent crimes in Chicago.
Yesterday, on October 27, the Village of Lyons, Illinois, enacted a gun control ordinance that adopted many of the measures sought by the lawsuit.
According to the Chicago Tribune:
Effective immediately, the gun shop will have to keep electronic records of anyone who purchases more than one firearm within a 12-month period. All records and documents, including completed forms, must be turned over to local law enforcement within 48 hours if the gun shop dealer determines that the potential buyer is not a "valid or lawful" purchaser.In addition, the law requires the shop to maintain a digital "do not sell" list of people who purchased a gun that was later traced to a crime. Each gun shop employee must hold a valid firearms owner's identification card. And the shop must audit all inventory and report any loss or discrepancy to the village within 48 hours of discovery.
The ordinance also requires local law enforcement, with the help of the Cook County sheriff's office, to conduct two inspections a year at the gun shop, in addition to the annual inspection by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The gun shop also will be required to install sufficient exterior lighting, surveillance cameras, cameras reporting the point of sale and alarm systems.
The ordinance, however, goes beyond what was sought in the lawsuit, officials said.
"This is about being practical and proactive to prevent the sale of guns to the wrong people," said Lyons Mayor Christopher Getty. "The village stands firmly behind our gun shop. We believe they are great operators, but at the same time we did feel more regulation was required."
...
Getty said the village was careful not to do anything that would put the longtime family-owned gun shop out of business. He said Midwest [the Lyons gun store] was receptive to village officials as they crafted the ordinance.