Chicago gun lawsuit plaintiffs apply for permits

Lead plaintiff critical of $100 fee


By Dahleen Glanton, Tribune reporter
5:35 p.m. CDT, July 26, 2010

Two years after filing a lawsuit that ultimately forced the city to dismantle its 28-year-old handgun ban, Otis McDonald walked into a police station Monday and applied for a permit allowing him to keep a gun at home.

The process took only 20 minutes, but McDonald said some of the requirements to obtain the permit seemed excessive. And though a gun permit was worth any price for him, he said he is concerned that the $100 fee could deter some law-abiding citizens from buying a handgun.

The city's new gun ordinance, enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the law that banned handguns, allows each eligible gun owner in a home to buy one handgun a month. Each handgun requires a $100 permit that must be renewed every three years. Gun owners also are required to register all their guns with the city, at a cost of $15 per gun every three years.

"The process itself was not bad," said McDonald, who initially plans to buy a .45-caliber handgun for his Morgan Park home. "But the unreasonable thing was the $100 many people will not be able to afford. And that's a shame because they will continue to be vulnerable to the drug dealers and gangbangers."

As of Monday, police said they had accepted 83 applications for gun permits since the process started two weeks ago.

McDonald showed up at the police station along with the three other plaintiffs in the lawsuit that successfully challenged the handgun ban, who also applied for firearm permits. It could take 10 days to three months for workers to process the applications.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it took three months in the face of all the difficulties being thrown up to us citizens who are only striving to protect ourselves," said McDonald, 76, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.

McDonald, an avid hunter who already owns a shotgun, which was legal under the previous ordinance, said he has long had a firearm owner's identification card. The FOID card, issued by Illinois State Police, is required before registering a firearm in the city. He said he also had completed the required four hours of classroom training and an hour on a firing range needed before obtaining a permit.

Still, McDonald said, it won't be easy for some people to complete the process.

"I can't see to save my life why our government would infringe this on law-abiding taxpaying citizens," he said. "This is an inherent right. It was not given based on how much money we've got or what we can afford financially."

dglanton@tribune.com

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-chicago-gun-permit-0727-20100726,0,3451462.story