Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

What is the Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence?
Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (ICPGV), a project of Legal Community Against Violence (LCAV), is a research-based public education campaign to promote meaningful gun policy reform in Illinois. Working with a statewide advisory group representing law enforcement, the medical and public health communities, local and state policymakers and advocacy organizations, ICPGV will inform and educate the public on the facts about gun violence and prevention policies.

Is gun violence in Illinois a serious problem?
Gun violence is a significant problem in Illinois. In 2005, 1,019 Illinois residents were killed by a firearm, about three people every day of the year. In that same year, 130 young people ages 0-19 in Illinois were by guns, 13% more deaths than 2004.¹ In 2007, 26 Chicago Public Schools students were shot to death and so far in 2008, 19 Chicago Public Schools students have been shot and killed.² In February of this year, mass shootings have shattered two Illinois communities, in Tinley Park where five women were shot and killed in a Lane Bryant store and at Northern Illinois University shooting, where Steven Kazmierczak shot multiple people, killing himself and five students, and wounding 18 others. In 2005, there were 569 murders with guns in Illinois. Everyday gun violence shatters communities, neighborhoods, families, and lives throughout Illinois.

Who supports gun violence prevention policies in Illinois?
Support for gun violence prevention policies comes from a wide range of individuals, organizations, and communities across Illinois, including child health advocates, domestic violence advocates, legislators, law enforcement officials, physicians, the faith-based community, and citizens.

What are the current gun laws in Illinois?
For more information on current gun laws in Illinois, please visit:

How does the Heller case, which involves a challenge to the District of Columbia law banning most handgun possession in Washington, D.C. , affect the proposed gun violence prevention policies in Illinois?
The Heller case should have no impact on the policies proposed in Illinois to reduce gun violence. First, none of the proposed policies pending in Illinois this year are directly at issue in the case. The Heller case will decide only whether the District of Columbia’s handgun ban is constitutional under the Second Amendment. The pending legislation in Illinois (e.g. to require background checks on all handgun transfers, to license gun dealers, and to require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms) all involve much more modest regulations than a ban on handguns. In addition, it is well established that the Second Amendment limits only the power of Congress, and that state laws are not subject to challenge under the Second Amendment.³

The Seventh Circuit has adopted this position as well.⁴ Because the District of Columbia is not a state, the Supreme Court should have no occasion to revisit this settled principle.

For more information on the Heller case, the 2nd Amendment, and how they relate to ICPGV’s policy agenda, click here.

How can I help ICPGV?
Please email info@icpgv.org or call 773.209.1002 for more information on how you can help Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (ICPGV).

1 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, WISQARS. Fatal Injury Report 2004.
2 Chicago Public Schools Office of Communications.
3 See Miller v. Texas, 153 U.S. 535 (1894); Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 (1886); United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542, 553 (1876).
4 Quilici v. Village of Morton Grove, 695 F.2d 261, 270-71 (7th Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 863 (1983). Other federal appellate courts continue to reiterate this position. See, e.g., Love v. Pepersack, 47 F.3d 120, 123-24 (4th Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 813 (1995); Fresno Rifle & Pistol Club, Inc. v. Van De Kamp, 965 F.2d 723, 729-31 (9th Cir. 1992).