Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, stood in front of a table of seized guns yesterday, was asked by a reporter how effective his city's gun policy was. He picked up a rifle. And suggested he insert it in the reporter's anus.

According to the Sun-Times his actual words to the Chicago Reader reporter were: "If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. If we put a round up your, you-know. . . . [Confiscating] this gun saved many lives. It could save your life."

His press secretary, a doubtless-stressed lady called Jacqueline Heard, told the Sun Times that "the person asking the question was missing the point that unrestricted guns are a devastating issue... to illustrate the point, he offered what admittedly could be considered a less than ideal example, but it's one that is a stark reminder of how destructive gun violence has been."