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finding the “self-defense” gun in any one year than there have ever been 
burglars protected against, or caught, since the turn of the century. Every 
respected police official urges the citizen not to try to shoot it out with 
a burglar. In addition to being attractive nuisances for children, guns in 
the home can bring tragic consequences to persons who are depressed; to 
spouces involved in marital disputes, and to the rest of society if the burglar 
happens to steal the gun as well. 
It is argued further that there are already enough gun laws on the 
books; the problem is that they are not enforced. There is no law in Illinois 
which requires a person to register HIS GUNS. In July of 1968, a law will 
go into effect which will require registration by GUN OWNERS. From 
when on, any person who wishes to purchase a gun in Illinois will have to 
prove that he is registered with the state. However, even this forward 
step will not give the police any help in trying to round up the guns that 
are now unlawfully held, the guns that are stolen, or the guns that are 
brought in from out of state. The City of Chicago currently is considering 
an ordinance which will require the registration of every gun owned by 
any person living in the City of Chicago, wherever bought. If it passes the 
City Council, it will be the first comprehensive piece of legislation anywhere 
in the State of Illinois which provides for central registry of all guns, thus 
giving the police an opportunity to trace down contraband guns. 
Prior to this year, the only ordinance the City of Chicago had was one 
requiring a permit to purchase a handgun. Since it did not require regis- 
tration of guns purchased outside of Chicago, it merely put a premium 
on suburban handgun sales. The only laws that have heretofore been in 
effect in Illinois have had to do with the carrying of concealed weapons 
and the restrictions on possession by felons, juveniles, etc. These laws 
have been vigorously enforced (notwithstanding propaganda to the con- 
trary). They simply have not been sufficient to cut down the traffic in guns. 
In December of 1967, a very distinguished alderman of the City of 
Chicago was shot on his way home. The succeeding uproar triggered a new 
effort to pass effective gun legislation. During the hearings before the City 
Council committee on the proposed new comprehensive gun control ordin- 
ance, one of the police commanders stated that there were perhaps as many 
as 400,000 handguns extant in the city alone—enough “fire power” to more 
than explain the rising crime rates on our city’s streets. 
No one seeks to interfere with legitimate hunters using the rifle to 
shoot game. Laws calling for the registration of such gun owner or the 
guns he owns are no different than registration laws on automobiles, motor 
boats, the right to drive, fish or hunt, or even the right to get married or 
be born. To turn the question around, what concern can a legitimate 
hunter have about letting law enforcement officials know that he owns a 
rifle and the registration number of that rifle? 
Even as to handguns, the existing law or proposed new ones would 
not seek to interfere with the gun collector or the target shooter, or even 
the person who wants to have a handgun in his home for self-defense pur- 
poses. Personally, I think a pretty good case can be made for the outright 
prohibition of handguns. The number of people involved in target shooting 
er gun collecting are far less than the number who are killed in homicides 
by handguns in our big cities in any given year. In any event, prohibition 
of handguns is not the subject matter of any proposed or pending legislation. 
Again, the legitimate handgun owner must be asked: What objection do 
