Membership Has Its Privileges
Chicago Alderman Dick Mell forgot to register his guns with the Chicago Police Department this year. He's required to do so under one of the toughest gun laws in the country, a law he helped pass.
Mell first sought to play the "do you know who I am" card, and bully Chicago PD's gun registration division into granting him an exception. They declined (good on them for that).
No problem. Mell has since introduced a new law that would give Chicagoans who forgot to register their guns last year a one-month grace period in which they can re-register without penalty.
Mell helpfully explains:
"It's not just for me. It's for other people with the same problem. It's giving people who legitimately registered their guns at one time only to let it slip by a chance to come back into compliance," Mell said. "Some people didn't realize that, every year, you have to re-register your guns."
By the way, if you move to or live in Chicago, you can forget about buying a handgun like one of those Mell owns. They've been banned since 1982. Mell was grandfathered in. Judge for yourself how well the ban has protected Chicagoans from gun violence. But hey, at least Mell feels safe.