Press Releases

For Release: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 Widespread Sale of Military-Style Weapons Drives Illicit Traffic to Mexico, Increases Armed Attacks on U.S. Law Enforcement Officers, and Facilitates Mass Shootings Washington, DC–As the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform focuses on alleged failures of the U.S. Justice Department’s program to stop gun trafficking to Mexico, a new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) identifies the major force driving the criminal cross-border gun traffic: the gun industry’s…

For Release: Tuesday, June 7, 2011 Al Qaeda: “America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms…So what are you waiting for?” Washington, DC–In a letter (See https://vpc.org/lettertoobama.pdf) sent today to the White House, America’s five national gun violence prevention (GVP) organizations–the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Violence Policy Center, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Legal Community Against Violence, and States United to Prevent Gun Violence–as well as 14 state and regional GVP groups strongly urged President…

For Release: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 Washington, DC–At least 309 people, including 11 law enforcement officers, have been killed in incidents not ruled self-defense involving private citizens legally allowed to carry handguns according to the May update of the Violence Policy Center’s Concealed Carry Killers on-line resource (http://concealedcarrykillers.org). Included in the update is a Florida incident in which a two and a half year old toddler has been accused of accidently shooting his mother to death…

For Release: Thursday, May 12, 2011 Wisconsin Concealed Carry Proponents Ignore Bloody Record of Police Deaths, Mass Shootings, and Attempted Political Assassination  Washington, DC–While Wisconsin concealed carry proponents promise that proposed legislation allowing the carrying of loaded concealed handguns in the state will increase public safety and aid law enforcement, since May 2007 at least 300 people–including 11 law enforcement officers–have been killed by private citizens legally allowed to carry handguns in killings not ruled self-defense…

For Release: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Washington, DC—Persons legally allowed to carry concealed handguns have killed at least 300 individuals since May 2007 according to the April 2011 update of Concealed Carry Killers, a Violence Policy Center (VPC) on-line resource that tallies news reports of killings by persons allowed to legally carry concealed handguns. These killings include the deaths of 11 law enforcement officers as well as 18 mass shootings where private citizens legally allowed to carry…

For Release: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 Organized Corporate Solicitation Program Disproves Longstanding NRA Claim That It’s Independent of Gun Industry Washington, DC–The National Rifle Association (NRA) receives millions of dollars directly from domestic and foreign gun manufacturers and other members of the firearms industry through an organized corporate outreach program according to a new report issued today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The report, Blood Money: How the Gun Industry Bankrolls the NRA, reveals that since…

For Release: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 Illinois Concealed Carry Proponents Ignore Bloody Record of Police Deaths, Mass Shootings, and Attempted Political Assassination Washington, DC–While Illinois concealed carry proponents promise that proposed legislation allowing the carrying of concealed handguns in the state will increase public safety and aid law enforcement, a new analysis from the Washington, DC-based Violence Policy Center shows that nearly 300 people–including 11 law enforcement officers–have been killed in shootings not ruled self-defense by…

For Release: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 At Least 11 Law Enforcement Officers Have Been Shot and Killed by Concealed Handgun Permit Holders Since May 2007 Washington, DC–The sniper attack Sunday on Virginia sheriff’s deputies–resulting in the deaths of two officers and the wounding of two others–was committed by a concealed handgun permit holder. The sniper, concealed handgun permit holder Randy Newberry, was later killed by police. The two slain deputies will now become the 10th and…

For Release: Friday, February 11, 2011 Washington, DC–The attack last month in Tucson that left six dead and 13 injured, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), is the most recent mass shooting allegedly committed by a private citizen legally carrying a concealed handgun according to the February update to the Violence Policy Center’s Concealed Carry Killers on-line resource. Concealed Carry Killers tallies reports of killings by private citizens legally carrying concealed handguns that have not been determined to be…

For Release: Monday, January 31, 2011 Study Compares Rates of Homicide Victimization for Californians Ages 10 to 24 by County, Race, Ethnicity, Weapon Used, Circumstance, and Location WASHINGTON, DC – Monterey County’s young people suffer a murder rate that leads all California counties and is nearly three times the overall state rate for the same age range, according to “Lost Youth: A County-by-County Analysis of 2009 California Homicide Victims Ages 10 to 24,” a new study…

For Release: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 State’s Black Homicide Victimization Rate of 39.90 Per 100,000 is Eight Times National Overall Homicide Rate of 4.93 per 100,000 Washington, DC–Missouri leads the nation in the rate of black homicide victimization according to a new analysis of unpublished Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) data released today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The annual study, “Black Homicide Victimization in the United States: An Analysis of…

For Release: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 WASHINGTON, DC — The Violence Policy Center (VPC), a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury, today hailed Representative Carolyn McCarthy’s (D-NY) proposal to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines at the Capitol Hill press conference announcing the bill. VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand states, “Semiautomatic firearms loaded with high-capacity magazines – holding 15, 33, 50 or even 100 rounds of ammo – make mass shootings possible. High-capacity magazines…

For Release: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C.–Board members of the National Rifle Association and its affiliated organization the NRA Foundation, as well as the NRA’s lobbying division, have a financial interest in allowing the continued sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines like those used in the Arizona mass shooting according to a just-released investigation by the Washington, DC-based Center for Public Integrity (CPI). The article, “High-Capacity Magazine Sellers Raise Millions for NRA,” is available at http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/2839/. Following…

For Release: Thursday, January 13, 2011 Increasingly Militarized Civilian Gun Industry on Display January 18 to 21 in Las Vegas  Vendors Include Glock, Maker of Handgun Used in Arizona and Virginia Tech Mass Shootings  Increased Lethality, Shrinking Customer Base Defines Today’s Gun Industry  WASHINGTON, DC — Next week, America’s gunmakers will assemble for the SHOT (Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade) Show, the annual trade show for the firearms industry. As household gun ownership has dropped dramatically…

For Release: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 Violence Policy Center Details Use of High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines in 10 Prior Mass Shootings; VPC Calls on Congress to Ban High-Capacity Magazines, Save Lives WASHINGTON, DC — High-capacity ammunition magazines are the common thread that run through most mass shootings, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) stated today in profiling the guns and ammunition magazines used in 10 of America’s most notorious mass shootings (https://vpc.org/fact_sht/VPCshootinglist.pdf). “The Arizona attack joins a long…

For Release: Monday, January 10, 2011 Violence Policy Center (VPC) Issues Backgrounder on Glock 19 Pistol, High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines Used in Arizona Shooting; VPC Calls on Congress to Ban High-Capacity Magazines, Save Lives WASHINGTON, DC — The same model handgun used in the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and 19 others on Saturday was also used in the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) pointed out today in a backgrounder released on…

For Release:  Wednesday, December 22, 2010 Washington, DC–The conviction of a Massachusetts concealed handgun permit holder who executed his wife in the driveway of their home, a domestic violence offender who sued to get his concealed carry permit reissued and then killed his six-year-old son and himself, and a drug dealer accused of shooting a customer who didn’t pay for three ounces of marijuana are among this month’s updates and additions to Concealed Carry Killers, a…

For Release: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 At Least 57 Michigan CCW Holders Have Killed Themselves Since July 2007  Washington, DC–Michigan concealed handgun license holders commit suicide at a rate higher than the general Michigan population according to the November update to the Violence Policy Center’s (VPC) Concealed Carry Killers, an on-line resource that tallies reports of killings by concealed handgun permit holders that have not been determined to be legitimate self defense. According to the November…

For Release:  Friday, October 29, 2010 Washington, DC–Connecticut beer truck driver Omar Thornton, who in August shot to death eight co-workers before taking his own life, was a concealed handgun permit holder according to new information obtained under Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) for the October update to Concealed Carry Killers. In his permit application (https://vpc.org/thorntonpermit.pdf), Thornton listed “job” as the reason for his requiring the permit. Concealed Carry Killers…

For Release:  Thursday, September 30, 2010 Washington, DC–Concealed handgun permit holders have killed at least 202 individuals since May 2007 with 34 percent of the killings involving family violence according to the September update of Concealed Carry Killers, a Violence Policy Center (VPC) on-line resource that tallies news reports of killings by concealed handgun permit holders. The update comes one day before the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. Forty-two of the 122 incidents…