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Chicago gun stores would have to videotape purchases under an ordinance approved by the Chicago City Council on June 25, 2014. Here John Jackson, co-owner of Capitol City Arms Supply, shows off an AR-15 assault rifle for sale in 2013Seth Perlman/The Associated Press

The Chicago City Council has approved an ordinance that dramatically limits where gun stores can operate and requires them to videotape every purchase to prevent people from buying a gun for someone else.

Aldermen voted 48-0 on Wednesday. The ordinance comes after a January federal court ruling gave Chicago until July 14 to put gun store rules in place. The proposal has been criticized by firearms rights groups and likely will prompt a legal fight.

Chicago has been at the centre of national debate over gun control and gun violence, even before its decades-old handgun ban was invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010.

The new law would prohibit gun shops in most of Chicago.

Richard Pearson of the Illinois State Rifle Association says the ordinance is so restrictive it amounts to a ban, and will likely be challenged in court. He says owners couldn't possibly make a living selling guns in Chicago.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the city created a "smart, tough and enforceable ordinance."

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