Oak Park officials are inviting the public back to the table to discuss what, if anything, they should do with gun restrictions in the wake of last month’s Supreme Court ruling.
The Oak Park village board unanimously voted Monday to amend its existing firearm ordinance to bring it in line with the new law of the land after the high court declared both Oak Park and Chicago’s handgun bans unconstitutional. The local law was modified and not completely withdrawn, so the village maintained some long-standing gun restrictions. Still banned are assault weapons and carrying handguns in public. There also are some restrictions on the transportation of firearms.
“There is every reason for us to act in accordance with that decision as soon as we can, which is not to say that we do not have a challenge before us with regard to the protection of health and safety and the consideration of future regulations related to handguns,” said Village Attorney Ray Heise.
While village officials said after the ruling that they will look to see how Chicago reacts, they have not moved at the speed of Mayor Richard Daley or their city counterparts, who have already passed new regulations.
Instead, Oak Park officials said Monday they are asking the public to discuss the issue with each other and the board, but have set no dates or timetables on when the issue will be addressed.
“It’s important that we state our intentions to move forward with a public which will consider the need for additional measures to protect public health and safety within the parameters of the recent Supreme Court ruling,” said Village President David Pope.
While the village is going to wait on public reaction and comment to take any official action, they already had some ideas on future action even before the court’s ruling. In a June report to the board, the health department suggested ideas such as a mandatory handgun safety course that would be held at area firing ranges, or mandatory handgun storage for all homes with children present. The former is similar to an existing law in Washington D.C, which requires that firearms be stored with a trigger lock or inside a locked container.
