Armed Pols: A Chicago Tradition

Steve Chapman looks at the rather strange situation in Chicago concerning handguns:

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, another Chicagoan, has endorsed a nationwide ban on handguns and, in 1993, organized Chicago's first Gun Turn-in Day. But the following year, while running unsuccessfully for governor, he admitted he owned a handgun -- "for protection," he explained -- and hadn't seen fit to turn it in along with those other firearms. Lesser mortals apparently can protect themselves with forks and spoons.

For a look at Chicago's handgun ban as a racketeering enterprise.