Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

File:Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence logo.png

The Legal Community Against Violence was established in the wake of the July 1, 1993 101 California Street shooting, during which a gunman entered the offices of law firm Petit & Martin and shot fourteen people, killing eight.Richard C. Paddock, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-07-mn-10800-story.html "Gun Control Push Begun at Law Firm : Massacre: Employees return to San Francisco building targeted by gunman. Some have formed a group that will call for stricter legislation."] Los Angeles Times, July 7, 1993. Former Petit & Martin partners John Heisse and Chuck Erlich formed the nonprofit organization along with other San Francisco Bay Area legal professionals shortly after the shooting to help local communities pass their own gun violence prevention ordinances.Laura Linden, [https://www.motherjones.com/politics/1997/03/disarming-tactics "Disarming Tactics: Why is a group of well-heeled lawyers helping empower local communities to pass stricter gun control ordinances? Take a look behind-the-scenes of the unusual grass roots organizing project that's been successfully outwitting the California gun lobby."] Mother Jones, March 3, 1997.

Initially focusing on the local regulation of firearms in California, LCAV supported the passage of the Brady Bill and the federal assault weapons ban in 1993. The organization's volunteer lawyers provided legal consultation to the city of West Hollywood when it was sued by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) in January 1996 for banning Saturday night special handguns. The lawsuit was dismissed in November 1996.Gregg Lee Carter, ed., Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law, (ABC-CLIO, 2002) {{ISBN|978-1576072684}}, vol. 1, pp. 354-355. [https://books.google.com/books?id=H_RrLyV9rDUC&pg=PA354 Excerpts available] at Google Books.

Over time, LCAV expanded its activity to assist legislators and advocates in states across the country in drafting and passing gun safety laws. It also provided pro bono support to a range of local communities defending their gun laws from lawsuits by the NRA and other gun lobby organizations. The organization expanded its Second Amendment program, providing amicus curiae briefs in key gun rights cases, including the Supreme Court cases District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008 and McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010. GIFFORDS Law Center attorneys provided testimony in Congressional hearings about gun violence and gun laws, and regularly appeared in the media as experts on American gun laws. In 2013, the organization changed its name to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Following the Sandy Hook School shooting in December 2012, the Law Center expanded its activity in state legislation, contributing to the passage of over 600 new gun safety laws in 49 states and the District of Columbia.

In 2016, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence merged with Americans for Responsible Solutions, a nonprofit gun safety organization led by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly. The organization changed its name to GIFFORDS Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in 2017.{{cite news |last1=Dumain |first1=Emma |title=SC taxpayers pay for gun violence: Overall annual cost in state is $1.5B, study says |url=https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/policy/guns/article230896054.html |access-date=10 May 2022 |publisher=The Greenville News |date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20190529102925/https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/policy/guns/article230896054.html |archive-date=29 May 2019 |url-status=live}}

In 2019, GIFFORDS Law Center sued the Federal Election Commission, alleging the regulatory agency failed to take action against the National Rifle Association for alleged campaign finance violations.{{cite news |last1=Itkowitz |first1=Colby |title=NRA at center of new lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nra-at-center-of-new-lawsuit-against-the-federal-election-commission/2019/04/24/abfa1178-66ec-11e9-8985-4cf30147bdca_story.html |access-date=10 May 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=24 April 2019}} The lawsuit, filed by GIFFORDS and the Campaign Legal Center, states the FEC did not respond to multiple complaints accusing the NRA of using shell organizations to donate more than the legal amount to the campaigns of President Trump and six Republican Senate candidates.{{cite news |last1=Oprysko |first1=Caitlin |title=Giffords sues NRA alleging campaign finance violations |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2021/11/02/giffords-sues-nra-alleging-campaign-finance-violations-798628 |access-date=2 May 2022 |agency=Politico |date=2 Nov 2021}} In response, the NRA stated “[t]his latest effort by Giffords and the Campaign Legal Center is a frivolous lawsuit based on a frivolous complaint.”

Following the FEC's lack of response, GIFFORDS Law Center filed a federal lawsuit directly against the NRA in November 2021. As of February 2024, the case is pending.

In recent years, GIFFORDS Law Center has increased its litigation activity, either filing or supporting lawsuits against ghost gun companies, social media corporations, and the gun industry for contributions to gun violence.

In October 2021, GIFFORDS Law Center launched an affiliated program focused on promoting community-based solutions to gun violence in American cities. Called GIFFORDS Center for Violence Intervention, this program began hosting the annual Community Violence Intervention Conference, the largest gathering of community violence experts and advocates in the United States.{{Cite web |title=Giffords Center for Violence Intervention |url=https://giffords.org/intervention/ |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=GIFFORDS |language=en-US}}

GIFFORDS Law Center and its affiliated organization, GIFFORDS, was a key player in the Biden administration’s efforts against gun violence, providing research and policy suggestions that contributed to 2022’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the administration’s numerous executive actions on guns, and the formation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Gangitano |first=Alex |date=2023-09-20 |title=Biden to create White House office of gun violence prevention |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4213604-biden-to-create-white-house-office-of-gun-violence-prevention/ |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}

In 2024, GIFFORDS Law Center settled a major lawsuit against ghost gun company Polymer80 on behalf of Philadelphia, and undertook similar litigation in other parts of the country. In 2024, GIFFORDS Law Center was also active in the Supreme Court case United States vs. Rahimi, which was decided in favor of GIFFORDS Law Center’s position.{{Cite news |last=Jackman |first=Tom |date=April 14, 2024 |title=Philadelphia becomes fourth city to ban largest ghost gun parts dealer |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/04/14/polymer80-ghost-guns-pennsylvania/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

GIFFORDS Law Center provides comparisons of state gun laws online,{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Daniel |title=Battle For Gun Control At Stalemate - With Political Gridlock In Washington, Is There A Way Forward? |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2019/10/23/tree-of-life-synagogue-pittsburgh-gun-background-checks-red-flag-laws/stories/201910230001 |access-date=29 April 2022 |publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=23 October 2019}} and annually releases the [https://giffords.org/lawcenter/resources/scorecard/ Annual Gun Law Scorecard], a report that ranks and measures individual states’ gun death rates in correlation to their gun laws, assigning letter grades to each state.{{cite news |last1=Christie |first1=Bob |title=Arizona Could Ease Gun Rules for Libraries, School Grounds |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2022-02-17/arizona-could-ease-gun-rules-for-libraries-school-grounds |access-date=9 May 2022 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=U.S. News & World Report |date=17 Feb 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Zokovitch |first1=Grace |title=Missouri lawmakers continue to chip away at gun restrictions |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-lawmakers-continue-to-chip-away-at-gun-restrictions/article_ee01d4e4-a32c-546d-b8a8-25aefb72758f.html |access-date=9 May 2022 |publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=24 Feb 2022}} According to the organization, its research shows there are fewer gun deaths in states with comprehensive gun safety laws.{{Cite web |url=https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200210/gun-violence-group-gives-ohio-lsquodrsquo-on-firearms-law-scorecard |title=Gun-violence group gives Ohio 'D' on firearms law scorecard - News - the Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH |access-date=2020-02-17 |archive-date=2020-02-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217213944/https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200210/gun-violence-group-gives-ohio-lsquodrsquo-on-firearms-law-scorecard |url-status=dead }}

• Giffords
• Gabby Giffords
• Gun violence in the United States

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Category:Civil liberties advocacy groups in the United States

Category:Legal advocacy organizations in the United States