In Chicago, Baron became involved in gun control efforts in 1999, after a man linked to white supremacist groups shot and killed, in separate incidents, two men walking along sidewalks. He worked on that issue with the American Jewish Congress and the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. The shooter had been tripped up by a background check at a gun shop but was able to buy a gun through a newspaper advertisement placed by a private seller. One of the key targets in the local ordinance initiative is the lack of regulation governing private sales. Because of the work of groups such as LCAV, California now requires that all private firearm transactions be conducted through licensed dealers who can initiate background checks.
Most states have laws completely pre-empting any local regulation of firearms.
California pre-empts any local regulation of the licensing and registration of firearms, which had long been believed a barrier to any kind of regulation by localities. But in 1996 the city of West Hollywood banned the sale of Saturday night specials, and its decision to halt the sale of a certain kind of weapon withstood litigation and appeals. He was a plaintiff in the unsuccessful challenge to the ban in West Hollywood. The city was a paying client, but after that she worked pro bono through LCAV on behalf of many other jurisdictions seeking to enact similar ordinances. The two lawyers have started establishing networks and mailing lists to begin efforts for local ordinances in the Chicago area.