Law Student Gun Safety Pledge

Gun violence has reached a fever pitch in America.

Nearly 50,000 Americans were killed with a gun in 2021. Mass shootings tear communities apart with increasing regularity, and guns are now the leading cause of death for American children, ahead of car accidents, drowning, and cancer. The gun industry profits off this carnage, denies its role in the gun violence crisis, and actively opposes any efforts to pass gun safety laws—while represented by national law firms.

TAKE THE PLEDGE

Future lawyers are in a unique position to fight for gun safety. Sign Giffords Law Center and March for Our Lives’ Law Student Gun Safety Pledge today and commit to building an America free from gun violence.

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Law students are uniquely positioned to fight gun violence

Law students have the power to determine their own futures when choosing an employer and should feel empowered to seek one that reflects their core values. Firms make decisions about clients based on a number of factors, including potential consequences that could result from the firm accepting a matter. Law students have a unique power to help firms realize that work on behalf of gun industry clients can impact a firm’s ability to recruit the next generation of lawyers.

If you feel strongly about taking action to end our country’s gun violence crisis, we urge you to take Giffords Law Center and March for Our Lives’ Law Student Gun Safety Pledge.

HOW TO TELL LAW FIRMS ABOUT YOUR PLEDGE TO FIGHT GUN VIOLENCE

Law firms are not all the same. Some firms represent gun industry lobby groups that oppose commonsense gun safety legislation and some firms devote pro bono resources to fight gun violence. All law student interviewees are provided with an opportunity to ask questions of their interviewers and should feel empowered to ask about a firm’s public work representing clients that contribute to gun violence, and whether they would be compelled to participate.

For example, students may ask:

Does your firm have firearm industry clients?
Would I have to represent members of the firearm industry?
Does your firm do pro bono work to reduce gun violence?

Students may also explain to firms that their conflict of interest in representing gun industry clients results from their professional responsibilities as attorneys. The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct state that attorneys “must act with commitment and dedication to the interests of [their] client and with zeal in advocacy upon the client’s behalf.”

Students signing the pledge are attesting to bringing their commitment and zeal on behalf of clients that align with their core values and better the world—and do not enable the gun violence epidemic.