This month, the University of Minnesota Law School will launch its Gun Violence Prevention Clinic in an effort to promote their Second Amendment scholarship and increase student engagement in firearms law. “Firearms law is currently one of the most dynamic and rapidly changing areas in the law. Yet there are not enough litigators with expertise in the field, and law schools and legal scholars are under engaged in Second Amendment issues,” Megan Walsh, Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and Gun Violence Prevention Clinic Director, said.
The University of Minnesota isn’t alone in seeking to build out this knowledge base and skillset. Below, we’ve rounded up a number of ongoing initiatives and projects at law schools designed to provide students with opportunities in firearms scholarship, litigation, and legislation.
The University of Minnesota Law School Gun Violence Prevention Clinic
The clinic, a three-year pilot project, is designed to promote gun violence prevention through strategic litigation. In partnership with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, students will provide pro bono legal work in support of cases that help reduce injuries, deaths, and trauma resulting from gun violence. The clinic will also establish a home for gun violence prevention litigation in the Great Lakes area and increase litigation expertise and resources for Second Amendment and gun violence prevention.
The Duke Center for Firearms Law
The Center, launched in 2019, seeks to grow scholarship in firearms law and serve as a “balanced and reliable” resource for stakeholders including scholars, judges, lawyers, policymakers, journalists, and the public through research and programming.
Washington University in Saint Louis School of Law’s Initiative on Gun Violence and Human Rights
Law students participate in in-depth research projects to better understand the underpinnings of the U.S. gun violence crisis and to examine the issue through international human rights instruments. The initiative supports information sharing through conferences and webinars, as well as publishing articles and research. Last year, Leila Sadat, Initiative Director and Professor, contributed to an amicus briefing filed at the Supreme Court for New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
Yale Law School’s Law, Policy, and Guns Project at the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy
The Solomon Center places a spotlight on issues related to gun violence in the U.S. The Center has sponsored a course offering (2020), a special issue of The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (2020), and continues to facilitate public events as well as serve as a home for research and scholarship efforts.
New York Law School’s Gun Safety Legislative Advocacy Clinic
In partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety, New York Law School offers a hands-on clinic to engage students with gun safety advocacy and legislation. Students will gain experience in legislative research as well as in drafting legislative proposals, creating campaigns, and building coalitions in support of their bills. They will also learn to critically analyze proposed gun bills based on existing laws and legislative efforts, and to serve as counterpoints to the gun lobby.