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Frequently Asked Questions
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).
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