Second Amendment and Gun Violence Colloquium

Ever since the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, Second Amendment litigation has become an increasingly important field, with broad public and scholarly attention. The Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. v. Bruen has led to even more litigation and scholarly critiques. The Court’s recent decision in United States v. Rahimi (decided June 21, 2024) is unlikely to be the Court’s last word on the subject, as the lower courts appear to be splitting on several other issues. During this same period, numerous scholars have written about the Second Amendment and gun regulation, and concerns about gun violence have become important in many local, state and federal elections. In late 2022, the University of Virginia itself was directly affected by gun violence, with the deaths of three students on Grounds. In response, the University has initiated a “The Gun Violence Solutions Project” (https://provost.virginia.edu/subsite/gun-violence-solutions-project), which seeks to harness the intellectual assets of the entire University to develop innovative and effective solutions that will both curb gun violence and pass constitutional scrutiny. This colloquium is designed to be one part of the University’s overarching commitment to finding new constitutional methods to decrease gun violence. The class will include overview lectures designed to help students understand the constitutional issues, the nature of gun violence, the effectiveness of measures designed to reduce this violence, and the current debate over legal issues involving firearms. The colloquium will include six sessions in which scholars at UVa and outside institutions present their most recent academic and policy work.