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.

Forced Reciprocity: Why Your Community Shouldn't Be Subject to Other States' Weak Concealed Handgun Laws (Nov. 2011) State laws regulating who can carry concealed, loaded handguns and where they may carry them are extremely lax, enabling convicted criminals and other dangerous persons to legally carry hidden, loaded handguns in many states. Federal reciprocity, recently proposed by Congress, would force states with strong gun laws to recognize permits issued by every state, even if the issuing state doesn't require an applicant to complete any firearms training or show any need to carry a weapon. Forced Reciprocity discusses why such a move would be a threat to public safety.

Model Laws for a Safer America: Seven Regulations to Promote Responsible Gun Ownership and Sales (Sept. 2011)
Model Laws for a Safer America is designed for use by activists and elected officials nationwide seeking to close dangerous loopholes in our federal regulatory system. The publication provides sample language for state and local gun laws in seven crucial areas, supported by detailed legislative findings.

Guns in Public Places: The Increasing Threat of Hidden Guns in America (July 2011)
Guns in Public Places examines how dramatic changes in state laws have significantly expanded the number of people who may carry concealed, loaded handguns in public. This brochure also documents how weak laws in many states now allow hidden guns in schools, places of worship, bars, and parks, creating dangerous new risks to the American public.

The 2010 Report: Recent Developments in Federal, State and Local Gun Laws (August 2010)
The 2010 Report recaps the year’s significant firearm-related law and policy developments and educates the public about the nation’s gun violence epidemic. The 2010 Report also discusses the significance of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in McDonald v. Chicago, provides perspective on important federal firearm-related legislation as well as major state legislative trends, and spotlights two critical areas of gun regulation – universal background checks and firearms dealer laws.

Gun Laws Matter: A Comparison of State Firearms Laws and Statistics (July 2010)
Gun Laws Matter analyzes and compares firearms laws and statistics in all 50 states. In the brochure, LCAV ranks states from 1 to 50 based on 25 different policy areas, and shows that many of the states with the strongest gun laws also have the lowest gun death rates, and vice versa. The brochure also lists the ten best and worst states for rates of gun death, gun ownership and crime gun exports, and provides a map that displays each state’s ranking and whether the state’s gun death rate is above or below the national average.

Open Carrying: Provocative Conduct, Dangerous Consequences (July 2010)
A response to the recent trend of openly carrying firearms in public places like coffee shops, restaurants, public parks and political rallies. LCAV details which states permit, and which states prohibit, the open carrying of handguns and long guns – both in public on the person and within vehicles. Open Carrying: Provocative Conduct, Dangerous Consequences also discusses the dangers of openly carrying firearms and notes that the Second Amendment does not confer a right to openly carry a firearm in public and is not an obstacle to laws prohibiting open carry.

America Caught in the Crossfire: How Concealed Carry Laws Threaten Public Safety (2009)
America Caught in the Crossfire examines the public safety risks created by weak laws governing the concealed carrying of firearms in public places. This brochure provides an overview of the wide range of carrying laws across the country, highlights emerging policy issues, examines research on the use of firearms in self-defense, considers the impact of the Second Amendment, and provides common sense policy recommendations to reduce the risks created by permissive carrying laws.

10 Myths About Gun Violence in America (2009)
The gun lobby has perpetuated a myriad of myths about guns and gun violence in this country, successfully thwarting efforts to enact common sense laws to reduce gun deaths and injuries. In this publication, LCAV exposes ten of the gun lobby’s myths, providing evidence that regulating firearms is a necessary and effective way to curb our nation’s epidemic of gun violence.

2009 California Report: Recent Developments in Federal, State and Local Gun Laws (2009)
The 2009 California Report contains the latest statistics regarding gun deaths, injuries and crime in California and nationwide.  The Report also discusses the previous year’s firearm-related legislative and regulatory activities at the federal, state and local levels, and describes pending federal, state and local legislation.  In addition, the Report features a discussion of the effectiveness of firearm-related laws and highlights local ordinances to regulate ammunition sellers.

Analysis of Nordyke v. King (April 2009)
LCAV’s analysis of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Nordyke v. King, 563 F.3d 439 (9th Cir. 2009), addressing First and Second Amendment challenges to Alameda County, California’s ban on the possession of firearms or ammunition on county-owned property.  On April 20, 2009, the Ninth Circuit held in Nordyke that Alameda County’s ban does not run afoul of the First or Second Amendment.  This decision is one of the first federal circuit decisions to interpret the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling of the Second Amendment in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008).  Nordyke is notable because the Ninth Circuit became the first federal circuit to hold, in the wake of Heller, that the Second Amendment is incorporated to apply against state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.  Without incorporation, the Second Amendment only limits the power of the federal government.

Written Testimony of LCAV to the Washington, DC Council on the District’s Firearms Control Amendment Act of 2008 (Oct. 1, 2008)
In June of 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Washington, DC’s strict law banning handgun possession, as well as another law requiring all firearms to be stored unloaded and dissembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device, on the ground that they violate the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008). Following the decision, the District chose to amend the unconstitutional portions of its code, and also took the opportunity to expand its gun laws for public safety and health purposes. District representatives solicited the expertise of LCAV and other gun violence prevention and public health groups to determine the best available practices to regulate guns and ammunition that are also constitutionally sound. On October 1, 2008, LCAV testified at hearings held by the District Council on the topic of improving and expanding District gun laws. This written testimony describes several of LCAV’s recommendations to the District Council.

Gun Regulation and the Second Amendment (October 2008)
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008), which held that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees an individual right to possess a handgun in the home for self-defense, LCAV published Gun Regulation and the Second Amendment – Moving Forward After District of Columbia v. Heller. This brochure describes the Court’s opinion, emphasizing that the Court held that the right is not unlimited and allows for broad firearm regulation for public safety purposes.

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 (2008)
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. This publication 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.