Reducing Gun Violence Through Civil Litigation

1. Reducing Gun Violence Through Civil Litigation

2. AMERICA’S GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC • more than 30,000 peoplekilled in homicides, suicides, and unintentional shootings each year • 82 shooting deaths per day • 70,000 peopleinjured each year • One in three people in the U.S. know someone who has been shot. • The U.S. firearm homicide rate is 20 times higherthan the combined rates of 22 countries that are our peers in wealth and population.

3. Victims of Gun Violence

4. REDUCING GUN VIOLENCE THROUGH LITIGATION • Hold gun dealers and manufacturers accountable • Challenge and defeat overbroad and/or unconstitutional laws • Defend sensible gun violence prevention laws

5. Holding Gun Dealers AccountableJohnson v. Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply2003 WL 21639244 (Wash. Super. Ct., June 27, 2003) Pre-PLCAA case against the worst gun dealer in U.S., had over 200 “missing” guns and years of ATF violations Claimed negligent entrustment and general negligence against Bull’s Eye, the dealer, and Bushmaster, the gun manufacturer Conrad Johnson, Last victim of the DC snipers

6. $2.5 million for families • ATF revoked dealer license • Bushmaster changed distribution practices • Dealer out of business Denise Johnson, Conrad’s wife

7. Shirley v. Glass (Kansas) • Zeus, 8 yrs. old, was murdered by his estranged father Russell Graham. • Straw purchase case: “Have you been a good boy?” • Appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court • Won on all issues: establishing gun dealer liable for negligent entrustment and negligence per se • Court held that gun dealers must be held to the “highest standard of care” Zeus Graham, 8, was shot and killed by his father with a straw-purchase rifle.

8. TIP OF THE ICEBERG • Message to Gun Dealers: PROFIT OVER PEOPLE = CIVIL LIABILITY • Legal precedent that gun sellers will be held accountable for their misconduct. • Don’t Lie for the Other Guy • Gun dealer quote: “I read about your lawsuit and changed my business practice.”

9. Reject Extremism in Gun Laws “Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.” Justice Scalia (emphasis added)

10. Brady Center v. City of Nelson, Georgia • First Amendment: Compelled speech, objectors must involuntarily and publicly declare they fall in one of the exempt categories • Second Amendment: Violates the right to self-defense; keeping ones home safe by not bringing in a gun • Ordinance requiringevery Head of Household within the City limits to maintain a working firearm and ammunition. • Allowed exemptions • Mental infirmity • Pauper • Religious or conscientious objector

11. “Docs v. Glocks” • Florida law passed in 2011 (backed by the NRA) preventing doctors from asking patients about gun ownership, or risk losing license • Challenged by numerous medical organizations on 1st and 14th Amendment grounds • Permanently blocked by federal District Court in September 2011 • Appealed to 11th Circuit in July 2012, argued by LSA Leadership Council Firm Ropes & Gray

12. Defending Reasonable Gun Laws • Various states have passed new gun violence prevention legislation since the horrific events in Newtown, CT in December 2012, including: • Connecticut • New York • Colorado • Maryland • Delaware Gun rights groups in each state are challenging the new laws, which include assault weapon and high capacity magazine bans, on Second Amendment grounds. LSA is working to protect these new common-sense provisions.

13. Supporting the development of reasonable Second Amendment lawthrough amicus work: • 1st Circuit: Hightower v. Boston • 2nd Circuit: Kachalsky v. Cacace • 3rd Circuit: Drake v. Filko • 4th Circuit: Woollard v. Sheridan NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO CONCEALED CARRY

14. GET INVOLVED WWW.LAWYERSFORASAFERAMERICA.ORG Leadership Council Firms