For five years, the Gun Violence Prevention Project (GVPP) has been Berkeley Law’s only student group specifically focused on using legal tools to reduce and prevent gun violence. The Project partners with Brady Legal, a law group that has won landmark cases across the country, establishing precedent and holding gun industries accountable for injuries and deaths caused by gun violence.
In previous years, students with GVPP helped develop guides, factsheets, and other resources to educate individuals and organizations on California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order laws and the ways in which these laws can be used to keep communities safe.
GVPP continues to perform cutting-edge legal research for Brady Legal. Last year, students conducted state-by-state legal analyses of statutes that could be used to regulate the gun industry to support current litigation by Brady Legal. This year, Brady United Legal is looking for our assistance in litigation strategy to hold gun manufacturers and dealers accountable for the devastating, real-world impact of their products in local communities. Berkeley Law students will have the chance to conduct research on state statutes to support Brady Legal’s impact litigation efforts across the nation.
Because gun violence disparately affects communities of color and low-income communities, GVPP and its partner organization, Brady Legal, strive to center racial and economic justice in all legal work and community advocacy we pursue. Participants in GVPP will develop critical skills in case, policy, and statutory research, data analysis, and legal writing. Because of GVPP’s established connections with a leading organization in this legal field, participants will have the unique opportunity to help shape the legal strategies used to address the gun violence epidemic.
Supervision: Students will receive training from and provide pro bono legal services under the supervision of attorneys at Brady Legal.
Time Commitment: Three hours every other week, including a 1 hour meeting every other week.
For more information, please contact the student leaders at gvpp@berkeley.edu.