HomeMy WebLinkAbout057-O-23 Amending the City Code, Title 9, Chapter 8, Creating the “Safe Storage Act”6/5/2023
57-O-23
AN ORDINANCE
Amending the City Code, Title 9, Chapter 8, Creating the “Safe
Storage Act”
WHEREAS, According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
over 43,000 lives are ended by gun violence each year, with the number of those
injured and affected far exceeding this; and
WHEREAS, According to a 2018 study of gun-owning households
published in the American Journal of Public Health, nearly a quarter of all gun owners
keep their firearms unlocked; and
WHEREAS, Unsecured guns are susceptible to theft and pose a
significant public health and safety hazard, with a 2017 study in the journal Injury
Epidemiology finding that nationally–representative survey data suggests that
approximately 380,000 guns are stolen from individual gun owners each year; and
WHEREAS According to Giffords Law Center, unsecured guns in homes
and vehicles are fueling an national epidemic of gun theft; and
WHEREAS, The Evanston City Council finds and determines that it is in
the public policy of the City to preserve, protect and promote the health, safety and
welfare of its citizens by preventing individuals not otherwise authorized by law from
gaining access to firearms without proper authorization or consent.
NOW BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
EVANSTON, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, THAT:
SECTION 1: Title 9, “Public Safety”, Chapter 8 “Weapons” of the Evanston City
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Code of 2012 (“City Code”), is hereby amended as follows:
9-8-19 – SAFE STORAGE.
(A)It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or possess any firearm in his/her home
unless such firearm is secured:
1. With an engaged trigger or cable lock;
2. In a locked container; or
3. In a locked gun room.
(B)A firearm is not considered secured if:
1. A key or combination to the trigger or cable lock or the container is readily
available to a person the owner or possessor has not authorized to carry
or control the firearm; or
2. The firearm is a handgun, is left unattended in a vehicle and within view of
persons outside the vehicle.
(C)Any person violating or failing to truthfully comply with any of the provisions of
this Section shall be issued a notice of violation and shall be subject to a
mandatory fine of $1,000.00 for the first violation, $1,500.00 for the second
violation, and $2,000.00 for each subsequent violation. Such fine will be issued
in addition to any other fines or penalties applicable from any Federal, State, or
local law or ordinance.
(D)If any fine is imposed pursuant to this Section, such fine shall constitute a debt
due and owing to the City. If the fine is not paid within 30 days after the
expiration of the time within which judicial or administrative review of the adverse
determination may be sought, or within 30 days after an action seeking review
has been resolved in favor of the City, the City Manager or Corporation Counsel
may seek to obtain judgment on the debt and enforce such judgment against the
person fined.
(E)If, as a result of a violation of this Section, the firearm is used to injure another
person or property in a manner inconsistent with Paragraph D of this Section,
then, within two years of the violation, the injured party may bring a civil action
against the owner of the firearm in a court of competent jurisdiction and the court
shall find the owner of the firearm was negligent per se.
(F) Any person issued a notice of violation pursuant to this Section may request an
administrative hearing in accordance with Title 11 of the Evanston City Code.
(G)If any subsection, paragraph, sentence or clause of this Section or the
application thereof to any person is for any reason deemed invalid or
unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect, impair, or invalidate any
remaining subsection, paragraph, sentence or clause hereof or the application of
this Section to any other person.
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SECTION 2: Ordinance XX-O-23 shall be in full force and effect as of
12:00 a.m. _____________, 2023.
SECTION 3:All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are
hereby unconditionally repealed in their entirety. The terms and provisions of this
Ordinance shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purposes set forth in the
recitals to this Ordinance. Each and every section in this Ordinance is to be construed
and interpreted severally.
SECTION 4: The findings in this Ordinance, and the legislative Record,
are declared to be prima facie evidence of the law of the City of Evanston and shall be
received in evidence as provided by the Illinois Compiled Statutes and the courts of the
State of Illinois.
SECTION 5: If any provision of this Ordinance or application thereof to
any person or circumstance is ruled unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Ordinance that can be given effect
without the invalid application or provision, and each invalid provision or invalid
application of this Ordinance is severable.
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Introduced:_________________, 2023
Adopted:___________________, 2023
Approved:
__________________________, 2023
_______________________________
Daniel Biss, Mayor
Attest:
_______________________________
Stephanie Mendoza, City Clerk
Approved as to form:
_______________________________
Nicholas E. Cummings, Corporation Counsel
June 5
June 22
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June 29