Shocker: Chicago Mayor Calls for Registration

If you thought Chicago might be out of the gun control business thanks to the retirement of former mayor Richard M. Daley and the city's loss of the McDonald case, you'd be wrong.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former White House Chief of Staff and confidant of the president, today called for legislation establishing a Chicago-style handgun registration regime for the rest of Illinois.

The chance of such a measure passing is remote, since Downstate Democrats and Republicans alike will line up against it, but it puts Chicago on offense at a time when many in Illinois want to change its status as the last state with no provision for concealed carry. I suspect the main purpose of the registration scheme is to blunt progress toward carry legislation.

Following U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's admission that the Administration retained the determination to pursue "assault weapon" legislation, Emanuel's call would seem to indicate a willingness among top Democrats to bring up an issue they've spent three years tamping down. Rural Democrat officeholders would no doubt prefer they keep it on the q.t.