How do I register a firearm in Chicago? (home, transfer)

[Chris23]

I apologize if this is a long since answered question - I did a search and found nothing, I swear.

I have a FOID card.

I live in the City of Chicago.

I Would like to register a shotgun.

Perhaps I am looking in the wrong places, but I can't for the life of me figure out how I'm supposed to navigate this process.

Has one of you gone through this, and can you help me out?

Thanks.

[Chicago60614]

I think you have to register with the state. The city outlawed all handguns 25 years ago. You're still able to own "long guns" that are registered. To get around that, the city outlawed ALL ammo from within the city limits. So if you own a shotgun, you'll go to prison if you live in the city and are caught with any shells or bullets.

[jak88]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

I think you have to register with the state. The city outlawed all handguns 25 years ago. You're still able to own "long guns" that are registered. To get around that, the city outlawed ALL ammo from within the city limits. So if you own a shotgun, you'll go to prison if you live in the city and are caught with any shells or bullets.

Just curious, but does this mean there is no way to protect your home if an invader comes into your property? I don't know how laws are outside of Chicago in the suburbs but if you live in the city, you can't protect yourself?

[j33]

not this again. (rolls eyes)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

I think you have to register with the state. The city outlawed all handguns 25 years ago. You're still able to own "long guns" that are registered. To get around that, the city outlawed ALL ammo from within the city limits. So if you own a shotgun, you'll go to prison if you live in the city and are caught with any shells or bullets.

Nonsense. I'd like to see the statutory cite for this claim.

[Milliano]

Originally Posted by jak88

Just curious, but does this mean there is no way to protect your home if an invader comes into your property? I don't know how laws are outside of Chicago in the suburbs but if you live in the city, you can't protect yourself?

That is correct. Chicago passed a law 15 years ago that specifically stated "it is illegal to do anything to protect ones-self in their own domicile from an burglar".

[j33]

Right, which is why the city came by and confiscated my tire-iron and pepper spray last weekend, and mandated that I must keep my doors and windows open and unlocked at all times

[Chris23]

Yes, I saw this thread, and I was worried what I might rekindle....

But I still don't know how to register a shotgun in the City of Chicago (or if I even have to). Just looking for instructions - nothing more.

[LM1]

I wish I had kept the phone numbers to the "right people"...

When I moved to Chicago a while back, I came from a state with zero gun laws. I owned a number of firearms that were "illegal" in the city limits. When I called the city police to find out what was legal, what wasn't, what was required to register that which was legal, etc, I have never, ever EVER encountered more ineptitude and abject lack of knowledge in my life- FROM THE POLICE. My answers ranged from "No, guns are illegal in Chicago" to "You can have your pistols, you just have to register them".
Of course, both answers are woefully incorrect and both answers were given to be by the "expert" I was transfered to via telephone.

I eventually got to the right man and he was able to get me the correct forms, tell me what was legal and what wasn't, but it definitely wasn't a process that I'd like to repeat.

The process starts with an IL FOID card. From there, you can register them with the city. Moving to Chicago with firearms is a dangerous process full of loopholes where an otherwise honest person wanting to comply with all the laws can still find themselves on the wrong side of it. There aren't any real procedural mechanisms that allow you to "have them" while your application is pending. Basically, you have to leave them where they are, register them, and when when everything comes through, go and pick them up.

[Manigault]

I am a hunter and and I reside in the Chicago city limits. I own several shotguns (and ammunition) which are registered with the city, through a form available from any police station. However, I don't use firearms to protect my family in my single family house.

Let me tell you about what happened to me. One night at least ten years ago, I came back from an affair, paid the babysitter and was going outside to brush the snow off her car with a broom. I looked at the sidewalk nextdoor, and it was unclear but it seemed my nextdoor neighbor was hugging or talking to someone. (I didn't get into his business). It turned out that my neighbor (an ex-marine but a slight person) was being held up when I saw him; the robber just having let go of his neck. He was very cool, and told the guy "OK, calm down. Take my fifty dollars."

Now, if I had come outside with a firearm, I could have saved him his $50 or I could have killed or maimed one or two people, or some of the robber's friends could have come back and harmed my family. Or I could have been in years of litigation by the robber or my friend for shooting one or both of them. What happened is that my neighbor was out fifty bucks and had an interesting story for his friends. We still live next to each other.

More recently, when I thought a stalker was ringing my front doorbell I carried a short baseball bar (a fish stunner) to the door to see who it was. It was a cop and he asked me if I was nuts -- bringing a baseball bat to answer the door.

To sum up all this -- I'll give a robber money to protect my family and property. However, I am not going to used deadly force when it can be avoided. There are many ways to protect a home and family without using or possessing a pistol. I later had to get a new babysitter because her 10 year old son was killed when shot in the head by his friend firing a pistol they found in a home.