Reports and Analyses

LCAV’s reports and analyses provide legal information and strategies for activists and public officials across the country.

Documents may be downloaded by clicking on the underlined title.

Summary and Analysis of District of Columbia v. Heller (July 2008)
LCAV’s summary and analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller, the significant 2008 case interpreting the Second Amendment. The Court held, in a 5 to 4 decision, that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to keep and bear arms unconnected with service in a militia. The Court noted that this right has limits, but was unclear about the contours of those limits. The Court also struck down as unconstitutional under the Amendment the District of Columbia’s ban on possession of firearms in the home, and the District’s requirement that firearms in the home be stored unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock.

LCAV Comment to U.S. Department of the Interior Against Proposed Regulatory Changes Permitting the Carrying of Concealed, Loaded Firearms in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges (June 2008)
LCAV submitted public comment to the U.S. Department of the Interior opposing proposed National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service rule changes that would allow visitors to national parks and wildlife refuges to carry concealed, loaded firearms in park areas if the state in which the park or refuge is located permits the concealed carrying of loaded guns in state parks. Current federal rules permit firearm possession on national park lands, as long as the gun is unloaded or otherwise rendered temporarily inoperable. LCAV strongly opposes the rule changes, which would undermine public safety and threaten park visitors, park rangers and employees, and protected wildlife.

2008 California Report: Recent Developments in Federal, State and Local Gun Laws (2008)
Information about the epidemic of gun violence in California and nationwide, with an update on firearm-related legal developments at the federal, state and local levels.

Regulating Guns in America -- An Evaluation and Comparative Analysis of Federal, State and Selected Local Gun Laws (new 2008 edition)
Designed for use by state and local officials, law enforcement, and gun violence prevention advocates, this report provides a comprehensive, national review of existing federal and state laws on more than twenty topics covering all major areas of gun policy. The report also includes a discussion of local laws in ten major U.S. cities, compares and contrasts different policy approaches, and offers a list of features that characterize the most comprehensive legislative solution in each area.

House of Representatives Passes "NICS Improvement Act of 2007" with Troubling Amendments (June 15, 2007)
Information about H.R. 2640, a resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on June 13, 2007. The measure would provide financial incentives for states to submit mental health and other records to the FBI for firearms background checks but also contains troubling amendments.

Written Testimony of LCAV – May 10, 2007 Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Written testimony submitted to the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on state compliance with federal firearm laws, focusing on the Brady Act’s provisions that require the reporting of prohibited purchaser information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. LCAV provided both oral and written testimony to the Subcommittee addressing the need to close loopholes in federal prohibited purchaser provisions and the background check system, and discussing state laws that have addressed the issues presented by the federal loopholes.

Lessons from Virginia Tech: Recommendations for State Law Changes to Close Loopholes in Background Check Systems (May 2007)
Following the April 16, 2007 shooting massacre at Virginia Tech, a tragedy that shed light on the loopholes in the federal firearm transfer background check system, LCAV released this publication to describe the federal loopholes and highlight what states are doing to close these loopholes that allow dangerous individuals such as the Virginia Tech shooter to obtain firearms.

Written Testimony of Legal Community Against Violence on Funding Restrictions Imposed on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Related to the Release of Crime Gun Trace Data (Submitted April 26, 2007)
Written testimony submitted to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the House Appropriations Committee opposing inclusion of appropriations language restricting ATF from disclosing crime gun trace data to law enforcement and the public (known as the "Tiahrt Amendment").

2006 California Report: Recent Developments in Federal, State and Local Gun Laws (2007)
Information about the epidemic of gun violence in California and nationwide, with an update on firearm-related legal developments at the federal, state and local levels.

2005 California Report: Recent Developments in Federal, State and Local Gun Laws (2006)
Information about the epidemic of gun violence in California and nationwide, with an update on firearm-related legal developments at the federal, state and local levels.

2004 California Report: Recent Developments in Federal, State and Local Gun Laws (2004)
Information about the epidemic of gun violence in California and nationwide, with an update on firearm-related legal developments at the federal, state and local levels.

Banning Assault Weapons - A Legal Primer for State and Local Action (2004)
Written for activists and public officials and intended to serve as a practical guide to the legal and policy issues surrounding the adoption and strengthening of assault weapon bans at the state and local level. Originally released in April 2004, reissued in September 2004, and reprinted in August 2005.

2003 California Report: Recent Developments in Federal, State and Local Gun Laws (2003)
Information about the epidemic of gun violence in California and nationwide, with an update on firearm-related legal developments at the federal, state and local levels.

Gun Laws Do Make a Difference: An Analysis of the October 2003 CDC Study Evaluating the Effectiveness of Firearms Laws (2003)
Written in response to an October 2003 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding the effectiveness of firearms laws in preventing violence. Helps activists and public officials respond to the gun lobby’s claim that gun laws are ineffective.

The Illinois Attorney General's Authority to Promulgate Handgun Safety Regulations Under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (2003)
Comprehensive legal analysis of the authority of the Illinois Attorney General to regulate handguns under existing statutory authority, prepared in collaboration with Illinois Lawyers of Legal Community Against Violence, the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. and the MacArthur Justice Center of the University of Chicago Law School.

Consumer Regulation of Handguns by the Illinois Attorney General (2003)
Briefing paper on the authority of the Illinois Attorney General to regulate handguns under existing statutory authority, prepared in collaboration with Illinois Lawyers of Legal Community Against Violence, the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. and the MacArthur Justice Center of the University of Chicago Law School.

Addressing Gun Violence Through Local Ordinances: A Legal Resource Manual for California Cities and Counties (1996)
A guide for elected officials, government attorneys and community leaders seeking to adopt and defend local gun laws. Reviewed and endorsed by the California Police Chiefs Association. Annual supplements are stand-alone reports.