Chicago council approves plan for gun sales in city

CHICAGO, June 25 (UPI) -- The Chicago city council, under the gun from a court order, approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to allow gun dealers in the city in a 48-0 vote Wednesday.

The plan has strict limits on dealers that the mayor described as the stiffest he believes would pass muster with the courts. A judge recently overturned Chicago's ban on gun sales. Handgun sales would be subject to a 72-hour waiting period and limits of no more than one per month to a customer, while buyers of rifles and shotguns would have to wait 24 hours.

Emanuel called the bill a "smart, tough and enforceable ordinance."

Dealers would also be subjected to zoning restrictions and would have to be at least 500 feet from schools and parks. Emanuel's office estimates they would be able to open in areas that make up less than 1 percent of Chicago.

The city is known for gun violence. Critics say its restrictions on weapons sales do little since most guns that are seized in the city were purchased elsewhere, often in southern Illinois.