U.S. Supreme Court Decides Historic Second Amendment Case

Supreme Court after Heller decision is released: Our fight for sensible gun laws continues

Following the Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign and the Brady Center, said that the fight to enact sensible gun laws will be undiminished by the Supreme Court's decision in the Heller case.

While the Justices disagreed by the narrowest of margins, 5 - 4, on whether the Second Amendment provides an individual, non-militia based right to bear arms, all nine Justices agreed that a wide variety of gun laws are presumptively constitutional, including restrictions on carrying concealed weapons, guns in schools and other sensitive places, and bans on "dangerous and unusual" weapons.



Brady Center Files Brief Urging the U.S. Supreme Court to Not Allow Domestic Violence Abusers to
Possess Guns

National law enforcement groups joined the Brady Center and other gun violence prevention groups in filing a "friend of the court" brief in United States v. Hayes urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling allowing convicted domestic violence abusers to possess guns.

If upheld, the appeals court ruling could require the names of thousands of dangerous, convicted abusers to be purged from the Brady background check system, enabling these individuals to possess firearms. The "Lautenberg Amendment", enacted in 1996, prohibits abusers convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from possessing firearms.



Brady Center Takes Utah Dealer to Court for Selling Pistol Grip Shotgun to 18 Year Old Mass Shooter

The Brady Center Legal Action Project has taken a new case, representing Carolyn Tuft, a mother whose daughter was killed in a mass shooting at a popular shopping mall in Salt Lake City, Utah. The killer, armed with two high-powered firearms, a backpack full of ammunition, and a bandolier of shotgun shells around his waist, turned the mall into a war zone in a matter of minutes. Five people were killed, and four wounded, including an off-duty police officer.

The lawsuit contends that the gun dealer is liable for the shootings. One of the firearms he sold to the killer was a pistol-grip shotgun, which federal law prohibits from selling to anyone under 21. The killer was 18 at the time.



Brady Center Files Brief in Tenth Circuit Court: Guns-at-Work Laws Should Be Unconstitutional

The Brady Center filed a "friend of the court" brief urging the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm a 2007 federal district court ruling striking down Oklahoma's 2005 guns-at-work law as unconstitutional.

Two major safety and security organizations — the American Society of Safety Engineers and ASIS International - joined the Brady Center in filing the brief. After filing the brief, Brady Center President Paul Helmke said "Our workplaces need to be free from gun violence, and that is most likely to happen when they are free from guns."



Brady Report Exposes Gun Dealer Who Supplied Guns for Gangs
[image] Guns-For-Ganes Report
Click here to read Guns for Gangs report.

A new Brady Center report tells the story of Frank D'Andrea's Connecticut gun shop — "a convenient, one-stop shopping place for violent and prolific narcotics traffickers, convicted felons and other prohibited persons," according to law enforcement. D'Andrea's gun store in the Bridgeport, CT area sold hundreds of guns to gangsters and drug traffickers and was cited for hundreds of legal violations.

Weak gun laws allowed D'Andrea to stay in business for more than two decades, until he was finally arrested and pled guilty to violating federal gun law.


Gun Manufacturers Lose Appeal of Gary, Indiana's Lawsuit

In a landmark ruling with nationwide implications, the Indiana Court of Appeals today ruled that the City of Gary's lawsuit against gun manufacturers may proceed to trial.

The 3-0 Court ruling held that the 2005 federal "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" does not shield the gun industry from liability for irresponsible sales practices that funnel guns to the criminal market.


Putting Faith in to Action to Prevent Gun Violence:
God Not Guns Sabbath

Faith leaders and activists join together at Riverside Church in New York City for the first annual God Not Guns Sabbath.

The first annual God Not Guns Sabbath was observed on September 28-30 in faith communities across the country.

From North Carolina to California, individuals and congregations pledged their commitment to help make their communities safer from gun violence by recognizing and addressing the epidemic of gun violence and the spiritual and moral crisis that this epidemic reflects.

Click here to find out more.



No Guns Left Behind [Report Cover]Brady Center Report Describes Risks Of Guns On College Campuses

Washington, D.C. — The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is releasing a new report — No Gun Left Behind: The Gun Lobby's Campaign to Push Guns Into Colleges and Schools — that draws attention to the gun lobby's efforts in recent years, and since the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech, to change college campus rules prohibiting firearms. The report describes gun lobby efforts in Utah, Maine, South Carolina and other states to force colleges to allow the possession and use of firearms by students and others on campus. Read the full press release.


Brady In The News
udpated [image]  7/4/2008
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