Courts Uphold Common Sense Gun Laws

Joyce grantee releases new publication examining Second Amendment litigation trends since 2008

In a landmark 2008 case, District of Columbia v. Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects a responsible, law-abiding citizen’s right to possess an operable handgun in the home for self-defense. A new publication by Joyce Foundation grantee, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly the Legal Community Against Gun Violence) finds that while the Heller decision prompted a slew of Second Amendment challenges to federal, state, and local gun laws, the courts have rejected most of these Second Amendment challenges and upheld a wide variety of common sense gun laws as constitutional.

Key findings, published in The Second Amendment Battleground: Victories in the Courts and Why They Matter, include:

• Since Heller, federal and state courts have issued over 600 decisions on Second Amendment challenges nationwide.
• The vast majority of courts that have heard Second Amendment challenges since the Heller decision have rejected those cases, upholding a wide variety of gun laws as constitutional.
• Courts are finding that a variety of laws are critical for public safety. Examples of these laws include prohibiting convicted domestic abusers from possessing firearms, banning military-style weapons commonly used in mass shootings, or requiring people to prove why they need to carry concealed handguns in public places.

The Joyce Foundation Gun Violence Prevention Program works with law enforcement, policy-makers and advocates, and researchers to develop common sense gun violence reduction and prevention solutions that keep our communities safe. One of the program’s key strategies is to advance legal strategies to uphold effective gun violence prevention policies and practices.

The Foundation has also funded the Law Center’s research on changes in state laws that have significantly expanded the number of people who may carry concealed, loaded handguns in public and efforts to debunk myths about gun violence in America.

Learn More
Read the press release
The Second Amendment Battleground: Victories in the Courts and Why They Matter
 

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