Washington, DC — Today, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced comprehensive legislation to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Violence Policy Center (VPC) Legislative Director Kristen Rand made the following statement:
“As our nation faces an unacceptable onslaught of mass shootings, this strong and much-needed legislation will protect public safety. Assault weapons are military-style firearms that should not be available to private citizens. This bill includes a comprehensive and effective ban on these weapons. High-capacity ammunition magazines are the common thread uniting nearly all recent mass shootings, and we urgently need to reduce the level of firepower in civilian hands. This legislation is exactly what is needed if we hope to prevent future tragedies.”
Since 1980, there have been at least 50 mass shootings where the shooter used high-capacity ammunition magazines, based on the federal definition of a mass shooting as a shooting with three or more fatalities. A total of 436 people were killed in these shootings and another 425 were wounded.
The VPC has compiled a list of mass shootings involving high-capacity ammunition magazines, available here: http://vpc.org/fact_sht/VPCshootinglist.pdf.
The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
