The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Civic Disarmament Committee for Handgun Control Records 1968-1978
© 2008 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Civic Disarmament Committee for Handgun Control. Records |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1968-1978 |
| Size: | 2.75 linear feet (6 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | The Civic Disarmament Committee for Handgun Control was founded in 1971 by Hyde Park activist and writer Laura Fermi. The group sought was to reduce handgun violence through promotion of government legislation, public education campaigns, and enforcement of existing handgun laws. This collection includes the group's correspondence; administrative records; position statements and publicity material; and research on crime, handgun legislation and public attitudes towards handguns. |
Box 6 contains treasurer's reports and tax preparation materials. These materials are restricted for 50 years until 2026. Addenda folder is open.
The remainder of the collection is open for research, with no restrictions.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Civic Disarmament Committee for Handgun Control. Records [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
The Civic Disarmament Committee for Handgun Control was founded in Hyde Park in 1971. Usually known simply as the Civic Disarmament Committee, or CDC, the group sought to reduce handgun violence through promotion of government legislation, public education campaigns, and enforcement of existing handgun laws.
The writer and activist Laura Fermi (wife of physicist Enrico Fermi) founded the organization with the support of the several Illinois state legislators and the assistance of faculty members of the University of Chicago Law School. Other core members of the group included Lillian E. Kaplan, Camilla Fano, Ruth Grodzins and Goldie Sugarman.
The group's activities included lobbying for state and federal regulation of handgun ownership; educational programs for students and the general public; a court-visiting program; and collaborative projects with other local and national groups.
The records of the Civic Disarmament Committee for Handgun Control include the group's correspondence; administrative records; position statements and publicity material; and research on crime, handgun legislation and public attitudes towards handguns. Also included are publicity materials, statements reports, publications, and other documents from related organizations such as the National Council to Control Handguns.
Much of the CDC's correspondence is included in a chronological file spanning the years 1971-1977, including incoming and outgoing letters and memoranda. Additional correspondence is interfiled throughout the collection. Typical correspondents include representatives of city, state and federal government; community groups in Chicago; members of related organizations and news media.
The collection also includes survey data, findings and reports of a questionnaire study that sought to assess the attitudes of Hyde Park-area schoolchildren towards guns and gun violence.
| Box 1 Folder 1-7 | Correspondence file, 1971-1977 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | Meeting minutes, 1971-1974 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Meeting minutes, 1974-1978 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Gun questionnaire project, survey data and selected findings, circa 1972 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Gun questionnaire project, preliminary reports, 1972 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Membership lists, correspondence and mailings, 1973-1977 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Crime statistics, 1933-1973 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, reports and correspondence, 1976-1977 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Coalition of Concerned Women in the War on Crime, certificate honoring Laura Fermi, 1975 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Committee for Handgun Control, correspondence, statements and press releases, 1974-1977 |
| Box 2 Folder 9-11 | National Coalition to Control Handguns, correspondence, statements and publicity material, 1975-1976 |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | U.S. Conference of Mayors, mailings and bulletins, 1975-1976 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Gun control organizations outside of Illinois, correspondence and publicity material, 1974-1976 |
| Box 3 Folder 3-4 | Organizations supporting gun control, statements, endorsements, correspondence and publicity material, 1975-1977 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | International organizations, correspondence, statements and publicity material, 1968-1972 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Legislative material, 1968 |
| Box 3 Folder 7-8 | Correspondence, legislative material, publications and publicity material, 1972-1975 |
| Box 4 Folder 1-8 | Correspondence, statements, legislative material, publications and publicity material, 1972-1977 |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Correspondence, reports and mailings, 1973-1978 |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | Newsletters, 1974-1978 |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | Correspondence, statements, legislative material and publicity material, 1975 |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | Tax preparation materials, 1973-1975 |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | Treasurer's reports, 1975-1976 |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | Addenda: Laura Fermi Correspondence, 1974-1978 |