Chicago Lawmakers on Verge of Repealing Gun Registry

Owners of legal guns in Chicago may soon not have to register their weapons if lawmakers back a recommendation to repeal the decades-old requirement.

The Chicago City Council is expected to nullify a law established in 1968 by then-Mayor Richard J. Daley that required guns in the city to be registered, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The move follows last year's ruling by a federal appeals court that ordered Illinois lawmakers to allow the carrying of concealed handguns.

In July, the General Assembly approved a concealed carry law that turned over sole control of gun permits and licensing to the state.

That meant the end of the city gun registry, the Tribune reports.

Todd Vandermyde, an Illinois lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, told the Tribune that the changes were "a start," though he still questioned Chicago's continued bans on gun sales within the city, the sale of certain metal-piercing bullets, and the use of laser sights on guns.

Three years ago, the city had modified its gun registry to require all handgun owners to obtain permits. The move followed a U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the city's handgun ban, which had been in place since 1982, the Tribune reports.