Judge rules Chicago's ban on the sale of firearms in the city is illegal

Officials in Chicago have vowed to fight a ruling by a federal district judge which threatens to lift a long-standing ban on the sale of firearms in the city, one of the last vestiges of the toughest crackdown on gun ownership in the US.

In the latest setback to efforts to keep guns out of Chicago, which still has America’s highest murder rate, US District Judge Edmond Chang said regulations which forbid the opening of gun shops within city limits is a violation of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.

In a statement the city said Mayor Rahm Emanuel “strongly disagrees” with the judge’s findings. “We need stronger gun safety laws, not increased access to firearms within the city,” it said.