Press Releases

For Release: Thursday, April 27, 2017 Incidents Include 31 Mass Shootings That Killed 147 People Washington, DC — At the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting and gun show beginning today in Atlanta, a priority will be weakening state concealed weapons laws and promoting a federal law to force all states to recognize permits issued by any other state. New, weaker laws would benefit both the NRA and its financial benefactors in the firearms industry. Yet…

For Release: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 87 percent of black homicide victims in Missouri were killed with guns Washington, DC — Missouri has the highest black homicide victimization rate in the nation with a rate of 34.98 per 100,000, which is more than double the national black homicide victimization rate and more than eight times the overall homicide rate nationwide, according to a new analysis by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The annual study, Black…

For Release: Wednesday, March 22, 2017 Incidents Include 31 Mass Shootings That Killed 147 People Washington, DC — Innocent victims continue to die at the hands of private citizens with permits to carry concealed handguns according to ongoing research from the Violence Policy Center (VPC). Concealed handgun permit holders are responsible for at least 928 deaths not involving self defense since 2007, including 31 mass shootings that killed 147 people, VPC research shows. Since there…

For Release: Friday, January 13, 2017 Incidents Include 31 Mass Shootings That Killed 147 People, Including Alleged Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooter Washington, DC — Innocent victims continue to die at the hands of private citizens with permits to carry concealed handguns according to ongoing research from the Violence Policy Center (VPC). Concealed handgun permit holders are responsible for at least 921 deaths not involving self defense since 2007, including 31 mass shootings that killed 147…

For Release: Tuesday, January 10, 2017 Alaska, Louisiana Have Highest Gun Death Rates in the Nation; Massachusetts, Hawaii Have Lowest 2015 U.S. Firearms Death Rate Up 7 Percent Over 2014—Highest Rate Since 1997 Washington, DC — Newly available data for 2015 reveals that states with weak gun violence prevention laws and higher rates of gun ownership have the highest overall gun death rates in the nation, according to a Violence Policy Center (VPC) analysis of…

For Release: Thursday, December 15, 2016 Massachusetts Leads Nation in Decrease (-90%), Followed by California (-89%), Connecticut and Hawaii (tied at -87%), and Rhode Island (-86%) America Once Had More Gun Dealers Than Gas Stations, Now Only Five States Do:  Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Wyoming WASHINGTON, DC—The number of gun dealers in America has dropped by 189,051 since 1994 according to a new analysis released today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The analysis…

For Release: Wednesday, November 16, 2016 Washington, DC — Innocent victims continue to die at the hands of private citizens with permits to carry concealed handguns according to ongoing research from the Violence Policy Center (VPC). Concealed handgun permit holders are responsible for at least 898 deaths not involving self defense since 2007, including 29 mass shootings that killed 139 people, VPC research shows. Since there is no comprehensive recordkeeping of fatal incidents involving concealed…

Para divulgación inmediata: martes, 20 de septiembre de 2016 Contacto: Violence Policy Center Press Office, 202-822-8200 x104, press@vpc.org Un estudio clasifica a las entidades federativas del país por sus respectivas tasas de mujeres asesinadas por hombres, previo a la realización del Mes de Reconocimiento y Prevención de la Violencia Doméstica el próximo octubre Washington, DC — En 2014 más de 1,600 mujeres fueron asesinadas por hombres y en la mayoría de los casos se usó…

For Release: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 Additional Contact: Julia Wyman States United to Prevent Gun Violence julia@ceasefireusa.org 401-644-9040 Study released in advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October Washington, DC — Nine out of 10 black women murdered by men are killed by someone they know, most often with a gun, according to the new Violence Policy Center (VPC) study When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2014 Homicide Data. The annual VPC report…

For Release: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 Additional Contact: Julia Wyman States United to Prevent Gun Violence julia@ceasefireusa.org 401-644-9040 Study ranks the states on the rate of women murdered by men in advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October Washington, DC — More than 1,600 women were murdered by men in 2014 and the most common weapon used was a gun, according to the new Violence Policy Center (VPC) study When Men Murder Women: An…

For Release: Friday, August 12, 2016 Washington, DC — The latest research from the Violence Policy Center (VPC) confirms that state laws allowing concealed handguns in public are putting our safety at risk. Concealed handgun permit holders are responsible for at least 885 deaths not involving self defense since 2007, including 29 mass shootings that killed 139 people, VPC research shows. Since there is no comprehensive recordkeeping of fatal incidents involving concealed carry permit holders,…

For release: Friday, July 8, 2016 Washington, DC—In the wake of the sniper attack last night at a peaceful protest rally in Dallas that left five law enforcement officers dead and nine injured, as well as two private citizens, Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann stated: “For years, the Violence Policy Center has warned that because of the free-flow of militarized weaponry and lax gun laws that define our nation, it is all too…

For Release: Friday, July 1, 2016 Washington, DC —Today California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a series of gun violence prevention initiatives, including a ban on bullet-button assault weapons and a ban on the possession of high-capacity ammunition magazines. The Violence Policy Center was the first to identify the threat posed by bullet-button assault weapons in 2012 in its study Bullet Buttons: The Gun Industry’s Attack on California’s Assault Weapons Ban and has also…

Para divulgación inmediata: viernes, 24 de junio de 2016 Cada año en promedio más de 3,100 hispanos mueren asesinados por armas de fuego y de éstos las dos terceras partes son por homicidios. Para la versión en inglés de este estudio, por favor haga click aquí. Washington, DC — Entre 1999 y 2014 más de 50,000 hispanos fueron asesinados con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos, con un promedio anual de más de 3,100…

For Release: Friday, June 24, 2016 Each year on average more than 3,100 Hispanics are killed with guns, two-thirds of Hispanic gun deaths are homicides Para la versión en español haga “click” aquí. Washington, DC — More than 50,000 Hispanics were killed with guns in the United States from 1999 through 2014, with an average of more than 3,100 gun deaths per year, according to a new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). Hispanic…

For Release: Monday, June 20, 2016 Washington, DC–Today the U.S Senate defeated two proposals that would have made America safer from gun violence. The Senate failed to pass Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) proposal to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, and it defeated Senator Chris Murphy’s (D-CT) amendment to expand background checks on gun sales. Soon after 9/11, the Violence Policy Center obtained a copy of a terrorist training manual, How I Train…

For Release: Thursday, June 16, 2016 Washington, DC–The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released a new 13- page report on the Sig Sauer MCX assault rifle used in the mass shooting in Orlando on Sunday. Understanding the Sig Sauer MCX Assault Rifle Used in the Orlando Mass Shooting (https://vpc.org/studies/Sig%20Sauer%20Backgrounder.pdf) contains images and text regarding the weapon from 2015 and 2016 Sig Sauer catalogs, quotes from reviews of the rifle, as well as a primer detailing…

For Release: Monday, June 13, 2016 In response to the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 victims dead and 53 injured, Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: The future that was feared is now. Lethal mass shootings now occur in our nation with a regularity that is as stunning as it is grotesque. And the lethal thread that binds them all no matter the motive is always the…

For Release: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 Kentucky Site of 2013 Shooting Where 5-Year-Old Unintentionally Killed his 2-Year Old Sister with His Own Gun Washington, DC — The gun industry’s latest marketing push, targeting children as young as grade school age, will be on full display this weekend at the firearms industry trade show that accompanies the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting beginning this Friday in Louisville, Kentucky. The lethal risks of encouraging children to handle…

For Release: Monday, May 16, 2016 Washington, DC–As National Police Week begins in Washington, DC, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released new research showing that in 2014, the most recent year for which information is available, one in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty were killed with an assault weapon.  In addition, in half of the assault weapon incidents, a bullet penetrated the officer’s body armor.  As seen in the…