Gun Laws, Gun Control, and Gun Rights

Guide to Gun Laws, Gun Control & Gun Rights as a resource for individuals on all sides in the ongoing controversy over the legal status of guns in the United States.

News Releases

News releases, newsletters and news services reporting on the latest developments in gun law, gun control and gun rights. Readers are advised that these are published by advocacy organizations; while containing useful information about recent legal developments, they may not be entirely objective…

News & Releases (National Rifle Association [NRA] Institute for Legislative Action)
Press Releases (Handgun Control Inc./Center to Prevent Handgun Violence)

Current Cases

Critical gun-related cases before or recently decided by the courts…

Cincinnati v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp. et al., Ohio Court of Common Pleas, October 7, 1999 [transcript of order dismissing City of Cincinnati lawsuit against gun manufacturers]
Merrill v. Navegar, California Court of Appeal, September 29, 1999 [victims of 1993 gun massacre can sue gun manufacturer; PDF format only]
U.S. city lawsuits against gun manufacturers
- City Lawsuits Against the Gun Industry: Q & A (Center to Prevent Handgun Violence/Legal Action Project)
- “City Lawsuits Against the Gun Industry”, Brian Siebel (Saint Louis University Law Review, 1999; PDF format only)
- Legal Action Project Litigation Docket: Liability Suits Against Gun Manufacturers, Dealers and Owners [the Legal Action Project, affiliated with the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, represents most of the cities and advises the others]

Complaints (with filing dates)

- - Atlanta (February 5, 1999; summary)
  - Boston (June 3, 1999; summary)
  - Bridgeport (January 27, 1999; summary)
  - Camden County (June 2, 1999; summary)
  - Camden City (June 21, 1999; summary)
  - Chicago (November 12, 1998; summary)
  - Cincinnati (April 28, 1999; summary)
  - Cleveland (April 8, 1999; summary)
  - Detroit (April 26, 1999; summary)
  - Los Angeles (May 25, 1999; summary)
  - Los Angeles County (August 5, 1999; summary)
  - Miami (January 26, 1999; summary)
  - New Orleans (October 30, 1998; summary)
  - Newark (June 9, 1999; summary)
  - St. Louis (April 30, 1999; summary)
  - San Francisco (May 25, 1999)
  - Wayne County (April 26, 1999; summary)
  - Wilmington (September 29, 1999; summary)
  - Washington D.C. (January 20, 2000)
- further filings and rulings on the city lawsuits (Firearms Litigation Clearinghouse)
NAACP suit against gun manufacturers
- NAACP press release (July 16, 1999)
United States v. Emerson [currently under appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals]
- U.S. District Court Opinion (April 7, 1999)
- brief for the Appellant, the United States (August 27, 1999)
- amicus brief by the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence and eleven national law enforcement organizations (September 3, 1999)
- “Case could shape future of gun control”, USA Today, August 27, 1999
Columbine parents lawsuit
- “Shoelses sue parents of Harris, Klebold”, Denver Rocky Mountain News (May 27, 1999)
- Tragedy at Columbine (Boulder News)

Current Legislation

Gun-related legislation before or recently adopted by federal and state legislatures…

Legislation to regulate the gun industry (Violence Policy Center)
An Act Concerning Firearm Safety (Connecticut Public Act 99-212; June 29, 1999)
- Colloquium on Connecticut Gun Seizure Law (JURIST)
Gun-related bills before Congress (THOMAS)

Positions: Presidential Candidates`

Policy positions on gun control and gun rights adopted by major U.S. Presidential candidates…

Al Gore [“Anti-Crime Agenda”; see item #3]
George W. Bush

Second Amendment

General materials on the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Bill of Rights
Sources on the Second Amendment and Right to Keep and Bear Arms in State Constitutions (Eugene Volokh, UCLA School of Law)
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms (Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, 1982)

Case Law

Leading cases on gun law…

Bryan v. United States, 524 U.S. 184 (1998) [interpreting the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(D)]
Hamilton v. Accu-tek (E.D.N.Y. 1999)
Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 98 (1997) [holding the “Brady Bill” (Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922) provision on background checks unconstitutional]
Staples v. United States 511 U.S. 600 (1994) [interpreting the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d)]
United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S 549 (1995) [holding the Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990 (18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(1)(A)) unconstitutional]
United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939)
United States v. Thompson/Center Arms Co., 504 U.S. 505 (1992)
U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the right to arms (1857-1990) (Second Amendment Law Library)
Federal court opinions on the right to arms (1876-1999) (Second Amendment Law Library)
State court opinions on the right to arms (1822-1922) (Second Amendment Law Library)
Court decisions supporting the militia interpretation of the Second Amendment (American Bar Association)

Statutes

Leading statutes on gun possession, sale and use…

Federal

Brady Law
- Brady Law enforcement letters and provisions
- National Instant Criminal Background Check System (FBI)
Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994
Title 18 U.S. Code, Part I, Chapter 44 (Firearms) (Cornell Legal Information Institute)

State

Gun Laws State-by-State (CNN)
State Firearm Laws(Violence Policy Center)
State-by-State Firearms Laws and Information (Gunlaws.com)

Books

Books on various aspects of gun law, gun control and gun rights…

latest titles on gun law, gun control, gun rights, and the Second Amendment(Barnes & Noble)
books on gun control (from the catalog of the Biddle Law Library, University of Pennslyvania Law School)

Articles

Legal scholarship and commentary on gun-related issues…

law review articles and recent commentary on the Second Amendment (Second Amendment Law Library; incomplete collection but representative sampling of available articles)
(Centre of Criminiology, University of Toronto, CANADA)

Legal Scholars

Law professors active in the gun control debate…

Randy Barnett (Boston University Law School)
Eugene Volokh (UCLA School of Law)
Journalist’s Guide to Gun Policy Scholars and Second Amendment Scholars(Eugene Volokh, UCLA; “featuring experts — liberals, moderates, and conservatives — whose research has led them to be skeptical of gun control”)

Statistics and Reports

Statistics and official reports on the use and effects of guns…

United States Government

Crimes Committed With Firearms: A Report for Parents, Prosecutors and Policy Makers (Senate Committee on the Judiciary, September 1999)
Firearm Injury from Crime: Firearms, Crime and Criminal Justice(U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1996)
Firearms and Crime Statistics (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Gun Crime Trace Analysis Reports: The Illegal Youth Firearms Markets in 27 Communities (Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms)
Gun Use in Crimes (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1995)
Gun Shows: Brady Checks and Crime Gun Traces (U.S. Department of Treasury, 1999)

Centers for Disease Control

Firearm Injuries and Fatalities(National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 1998)
Firearm Fatality Statistics, 1994-97 (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 1998)
Weapon-Carrying Among High-School Students, 1990 (CDC Morbidity/Mortality Weekly, 1991)
Firearm-Related Deaths, Louisiana and Texas, 1970-1990(CDC Morbidity/Mortality Weekly, 1992)

Other

The Death Toll Since Columbine (United States Conference of Mayors, September 1999)
Multiple Victim Public Shootings, Bombings, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handgun Laws: Contrasting Private and Public Law Enforcement (John Lott, Yale Law School, and William Landes, University of Chicago; April 1999)

Government Agencies

Government agencies engaged in the control or regulation of firearms…

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms [ATF] (U.S. Department of Treasury)
Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]

Advocacy

Leading organizations engaged on both sides of the gun control debate…

Organizations favoring gun rights:

Citizens Committee for the Rights to Keep and Bear Arms(CCRKBA)
Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership
Gun Owners of America (GOA)
Independence Institute
Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership
The Lawyers Second Amendment Society
National Rifle Association (NRA)
- NRA Live
Second Amendment Foundation(SAF)

Organizations favoring gun control:

- American Bar Association [1999 Legislative and Governmental Priorities]
  - ABA Co-ordinating Committee on Gun Violence
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
  - Gun Control
- Anti-Gun Coalition of America
- Californians for Responsible Gun Laws
- Ceasefire, Inc.
- Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
- Handgun Control Inc./Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (Sarah Brady, Chair)
  - JURIST interview with Jonathan Lowy, Senior Attorney at the Legal Action Project for the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence

Americans for Gun Safety Foundation (see all the AGS advocacy site)
Handgun Epidemic Lowering Plan(HELP)
Legal Action Project (Center to Prevent Handgun Violence)
PAX
Student Pledge Against Gun Violence
United States Conference of Mayors
Violence Policy Center

Gun Manufacturers

Leading manufacturers of guns and firearms…

Beretta U.S.A.
Browning Worldwide
Colt Manufacturing, Inc.
O.F. Mossberg and Sons, Inc.
Smith & Wesson
Remington Arms Company, Inc.

and see also:

American Firearms Industry

Media

Extended coverage of gun-related issues in print and broadcast media…

ABC News: Armed in America
CNN: Guns Under Fire
TIME: Guns and Violence

International

Laws and regulations on guns in other countries…

Firearm Crimes, Canada vs. US (Canadian Firearms Center)
Firearms (UK Home Office)
Firearms Regulations: Canada in the International Context(Government of Canada, 1998)
History of Firearms Control in Canada (Canadian Firearms Center)
International Action Network on Small Arms
Public Inquiry into the Shootings at Dunblane Primary School(United Kingdom, 1996) [Cullen Report]
Review of Firearms Statistics and Regulations In Selected Countries (Department of Justice Canada, 1995)
United Nations International Study on Firearm Regulation

Other

Miscellaneous online resources…