Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC–Today the House Appropriations Committee rejected amendments offered by Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Moran (D-VA) that would help law enforcement stop illegal gun trafficking. Instead, the Committee voted to keep intact the so-called Tiahrt Amendment  that restricts law enforcement and public access to information compiled by ATF about guns traced to crime. The votes came as the committee considered the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill that funds the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and…

For Release:  Thursday, June 28, 2007 WASHINGTON, DC–Today the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to an amendment sponsored by Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) to the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill that funds the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) restricting law enforcement and public access to information compiled by ATF about guns traced to crime. Shelby’s amendment adds to restrictions–commonly known as the “Tiahrt Amendment” (named for Kansas Representative Todd Tiahrt)–which block access to…

For Release:   Tuesday, May 8, 2007 Alleged Terrorists Also Trained with Next-Generation Assault Rifle, the Beretta Storm Washington, DC–A foreign-made SKS assault rifle specifically approved for import by the Bush Administration was one of the weapons the U.S. government alleges that six men plotting an assault on Fort Dix trained with in the Poconos according to the criminal complaint filed in a federal district court in New Jersey. In addition to the Yugoslavian SKS,…

For Release:  Monday, April 16, 2007 In the wake of the mass shooting today at Virginia Tech, Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement:  “Mass shootings have come to define our nation. Today’s shooting at Virginia Tech–the largest mass shooting in U.S. history–is only the latest in a continuing series over the past two decades. These tragedies are the inevitable result of the ease with which the firepower necessary to slaughter…

For Release:  Friday, March 9, 2007 Following today’s decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the case of Parker, et al v. the District of Columbia overturning the District of Columbia’s handgun ban on Second Amendment grounds, the Violence Policy Center released the following statement: “Today’s split decision by the Court of Appeals to overturn the District of Columbia’s handgun ban is not only contrary to the overwhelming weight…

For Release: Monday, January 29, 2007 State’s Black Homicide Rate of 29.52 Per 100,000 is Six Times National Overall Homicide Rate of 4.86 per 100,000 Washington, DC—Pennsylvania 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 study, Black Homicide Victimization in the United States: An Analysis of 2004 Homicide Data,…

For Release:  Wednesday, November 8, 2006 Gun Lobby Sees Shift in Control of U.S. House as Devastating to its Agenda NRA-Endorsed Candidates Lose in Key Senate Races Washington, DC–In the wake of the Republican party losing control of the U.S. House and amidst key Senate losses, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has suffered its “biggest election disaster in nearly 15 years” according to the NRA’s own election materials. In its magazines and in member communications…

For Release:   Tuesday, October 10, 2006 Event Comes as NRA Continues Efforts to Overturn D.C.’s Gun Laws Washington, D.C. — National and local Washington, D.C., area gun violence prevention, youth, and community organizations delivered a letter today to Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder urging him to cancel the Redskins’ hosting of the second annual “Redskins Sporting Clays Challenge, presented by NRA [National Rifle Association] Sports,” on Tuesday, October 17, at the Prince George’s County Trap and…

For Release:   Tuesday, October 10, 2006 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Regarding today’s Conference on School Safety convened by the White House in response to unrelenting firearms violence in America’s schools, Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand released the following statement: “The fact that guns are not on today’s agenda only confirms what was already obvious: The Bush Administration is in complete denial regarding the catalytic role that guns play in school violence. How is it even possible…

For Release:  Tuesday, October 3, 2006 On October 2, 2006, Charles Carl Roberts, reportedly armed with a 9 millimeter handgun and two shotguns, killed five young Amish girls in a one-room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. The incident is consistent with the patterns associated with most murder-suicides in which emotionally distraught, suicidal individuals use firearms to claim more victims. The May 2006 Violence Policy Center (VPC) study “American Roulette: Murder-Suicide in the United States,” (see https://vpc.org/studies/amroul2006.pdf for…

For Release:   Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006 WASHINGTON, DC—The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2004 Homicide Data. This annual report details national and state-by-state information on female homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender. The VPC releases the study each year to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. In 2004, according to the most recent data available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s unpublished Supplementary Homicide…

For Release: Thursday, July 13, 2006 WASHINGTON, DC–Today the Senate Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment to the fiscal year 2007 Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations legislation that would have allowed state and local governments as well as law enforcement agencies access to crime gun trace data crucial in the effort to stop illegal gun trafficking. The amendment, offered by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would have allowed state and local governments and law enforcement agencies access to…

For Release:   Thursday, June 29, 2006 Washington, DC — The vote yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives to prohibit the enforcement of a new federal law that requires gun manufacturers and dealers to provide child safety locks or safe storage devices with all handguns makes it clear that Congress values the loyalty of the gun lobby more than the welfare of children, Kristen Rand, Violence Policy Center legislative director, stated today. The amendment was attached…

For Release:  Thursday, May 18, 2006 Campaign Validates and Incites Anti-Police Faction of Pro-Gun Movement Pro-Gun Group That Joined NRA in Lawsuit Against New Orleans Owns Web Site That Regularly Attacks Police  “This will probably mint money for us,” Says NRA’s Wayne LaPierre of Post-Katrina Focus Washington, DC – Reports of plans by the National Rifle Association (NRA) to launch a nationwide campaign today targeting Mayors and Police Chiefs to pledge to never confiscate firearms…

For Release:  Tuesday, May 2, 2006 Washington, DC–More than 10 murder-suicides, almost all by gun, occur each week in the United States, according to American Roulette: Murder-Suicide in the United States, a new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The study used a national news clipping service and Internet survey tools to collect incidents nationwide from January 1, 2005, through June 30, 2005, and is one of the largest and most comprehensive studies ever conducted…

For Release:  Friday, April 14, 2006 Washington, DC–Following today’s announcement by Wal-Mart that it was ending gun sales in approximately one third of its stores, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Executive Director Josh Sugarmann released the following statement: “Wal-Mart’s decision is no surprise. The dirty little secret in the gun industry is that gun ownership in America is rapidly shrinking. The marketplace has spoken and the losers are America’s gun industry and the gun lobby. While…

For Release:  Wednesday, March 8, 2006 WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Wednesday, March 8, the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to consider a sex offender registration bill (H.R. 4472) that does not contain a provision that would prohibit gun possession by individuals convicted of misdemeanor sex offenses against minors. This is despite the fact that such a ban was included in the “The Children’s Safety Act of 2005” (H.R. 3132), a similar bill that was passed…

For Release:   Wednesday, March 8, 2006 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 190,726 since 1994 according to a new study released today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The study (see https://vpc.org/studies/dealers.pdf) found that the number of Type 1 Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) plummeted 78 percent: from 245,628…

For Release: Monday, February 13, 2006 Washington, DC – Saturday’s shooting of a fellow hunter by Vice President Dick Cheney was just one more addition to the more than quarter million Americans who have been injured by firearms during President George W. Bush’s tenure. From 2001 through 2004, the most recent year available, 252,076 Americans were injured by firearms according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. From 2001 through 2003, the most…

For Release:  Tuesday, February 7, 2006 Louisiana, Alaska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Alabama, Nevada, Mississippi, Montana, Arizona, and Arkansas Top List of Most Deadly States in the Nation Washington, DC – Traditionally “pro-gun” states in the South and West lead the nation in overall firearm death rates according to a new analysis issued today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) of just-released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. The new VPC analysis uses 2003…