Press Releases

For Release:  Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Washington, DC–The murder of five family members and subsequent suicide by a Riverside County, California, investigator for the District Attorney’s office fits the tragic pattern of most of the estimated 1,000 to 1,500 deaths that result each year from murder-suicide, according to the Violence Policy Center (VPC). In 2002, the VPC published the largest study of murder-suicides ever conducted, American Roulette: The Untold Story of Murder-Suicide in the United States.…

 For Release:  Monday, March 14, 2005 Shooting Occurred in District of Judiciary Committee Chair, James Sensenbrenner Washington, DC–Despite a mass shooting in Brookfield, Wisconsin, on Saturday in which a gunman killed seven people, wounded four more, and then committed suicide, a subcommittee of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is scheduled tomorrow to take the first step toward passing legislation to grant the firearms industry protection from some civil lawsuits. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act…

For Release:   Thursday, February 17, 2005 Bill is Priority for National Rifle Association, Legislation to Protect Gun Industry from Other Types of Civil Suits Will Soon Follow  WASHINGTON, D.C.–The Violence Policy Center (VPC), a national gun violence prevention organization, today harshly criticized passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of S. 5, legislation that will undermine the rights of gun consumers and victims of gun violence in class action lawsuits. The VPC and state-based gun…

For Release:  Wednesday, February 9, 2005 Defeat of Bingaman-Feinstein Amendment is Win for Gun Industry, Bill is Priority for National Rifle Association  WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Violence Policy Center (VPC), a national gun violence prevention organization, today harshly criticized S. 5, the so-called “Class Action Fairness Act.” The VPC opposes the bill as an egregious invasion of the rights of gun consumers and victims of firearms violence. The VPC joins a broad coalition of consumer,…

For Release:   Tuesday, February 8, 2005 Washington, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today joined Representatives Jim Moran (D-VA), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), and Henry Waxman (D-CA) at a Capitol Hill press conference in support of federal legislation sponsored by Rep. Moran to ban 50 caliber anti-armor sniper rifles. Fifty caliber anti-armor sniper rifles can penetrate armor plating, pierce rail cars carrying toxic chemicals, and destroy aircraft. An ArmaLite AR-50 sniper rifle…

For Release:  Tuesday, January 11, 2005 SKS Assault Rifles Claimed Lives of at Least Six Police Officers in 2004  President Can Ban Import of All Foreign-Made Assault Rifles Such as SKSs and AK-47s  Washington, DC – SKS assault rifles like the one reported by police to have been used in an ambush shooting on Sunday, January 9, to murder one police officer and critically wound another in Ceres, CA, are a primary threat to law…

For Release:   Monday, November 22, 2004 President Has Power to Fully Ban Import of All Foreign-Made Assault Rifles Such as SKSs And AK-47s Washington, DC – SKS assault rifles like the one reported to have been used to murder five hunters and wound three others in Wisconsin over the weekend are a primary threat to police, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) reported today. So far in 2004, at least six law enforcement officers have been…

For Release:  Friday, October 8, 2004 New Jersey Senators Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg Sponsor Bill to End Program that Rearmed Thousands of Felons at Taxpayer Expense Washington, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today hailed the introduction of legislation to finally end the federal “relief from disability” guns-for-felons program, which was operated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Congress defunded the National Rifle Association-backed program in 1992 following release…

For Release:  Wednesday, September 29, 2004 Bill Would Repeal DC Handgun Ban, Allow Semiautomatic 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles and Assault Rifles to be Carried Throughout City Following today’s House vote to repeal the District of Columbia’s gun laws, the Violence Policy Center released the following statement from Legislative Director Kristen Rand: Since its passage, repeal of the DC handgun ban has been the National Rifle Association’s Holy Grail. This effort is being undertaken without regard…

For Release:  Tuesday, September 28, 2004 Study, Released for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Ranks Alaska #1 in Rate of Women Murdered by Men WASHINGTON, DC—The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2002 Homicide Data. This annual report, which details national and state-by-state information on female homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender, illustrates the unique role firearms play in female homicide. The study is…

For Release:  Monday, September 20, 2004 Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to vote on a bill sponsored by Representative Mark Souder (R-IN) to overturn all of the District of Columbia’s gun laws that are stricter than federal law. The bill currently has 228 co-sponsors. The bill, H.R. 3193, would: repeal the District’s ban on handguns and semiautomatic weapons, including assault weapons; end firearm registration requirements; and, remove criminal penalties for…

For Release:  Tuesday, September 14, 2004 Law Comes Less Than Three Years After Violence Policy Center First Identified Threat Posed by These Readily Available Tools of Terror  Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Bill That Bans Rifles That Can Destroy Aircraft, Down Helicopters, and Penetrate Armor Plating  Washington, DC – California yesterday became the first state in the nation to ban 50 caliber sniper rifles. The bill, AB 50, was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The threat posed…

For Release:  Monday, September 13, 2004 Reacting to the expiration of the federal assault weapons ban, the Violence Policy Center released the following statement today from Legislative Director Kristen Rand: Soon after its passage in 1994, the gun industry made a mockery of the federal assault weapons ban, manufacturing “post-ban” assault weapons with only slight, cosmetic differences from their banned counterparts. The VPC estimates that more than one million assault weapons have been manufactured since the…

For Release:  Wednesday, August 25, 2004 Three-State Region Has Largest Number of “Copycat” Assault Weapon Manufacturers in the United States, With Gunmakers Currently Marketing UZIs, AK-47s, AR-15s, Galils, and Other Assault Weapons Despite 1994 Federal Ban Washington, DC – The three contiguous states of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah have the largest number of “post-ban” copycat assault weapon manufacturers of any region of the United States, the Violence Policy Center revealed today. The region contains 10…

For Release:   Wednesday, August 18, 2004 New VPC Analysis Warns of Terror Threat Posed by 50 Caliber Rifles to Helicopters, VPC Also Warns of Threat to Armor-Plated Vehicles New York, NY – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today joined Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) in calling for a federal ban on 50 caliber, anti-armor sniper rifles. Fifty caliber sniper rifles can penetrate armor plating, pierce rail cars carrying toxic chemicals, and destroy aircraft. Currently being used by…

For Release:  Wednesday, July 21, 2004 Signatories Include Kevin Bacon, Patricia Heaton, Dustin Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Christine Lahti, William H. Macy, Robert Redford, Rob Reiner, Brooke Shields, and Barbra Streisand  Ban Set to Expire on September 13, 2004  Ad Highlighting Letter Runs in Capitol Hill’s Roll Call Newspaper  Washington, DC – More than 50 members of the entertainment community including Kevin Bacon, Patricia Heaton, Dustin Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Christine Lahti, William H. Macy, Robert Redford,…

For Release:  Tuesday, July 20, 2004 Latest Proof of Gun Industry’s Evasion of Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Scheduled to Expire on September 13, 2004 and Need for Law to be Strengthened  More Than One Million Assault Weapons Marketed Since Ban’s Passage in 1994  Washington, DC – More than 40 gunmakers in 22 states are currently marketing “post-ban” assault weapons including UZIs, AK-47s, AR-15s, MAC-10s, Galils, MP5s, Tommy Guns, Stens, and others according to United States of Assault…

For Release:  Thursday, July 1, 2004 New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine Sponsors Bill to End Program that Rearmed Thousands of Felons at Taxpayer Expense Washington, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today hailed the introduction of legislation to finally end the federal “relief from disability” guns-for-felons program, which was operated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Congress defunded the National Rifle Association-backed program in 1992 following release of the Violence…

For Release:  Wednesday, June 23, 2004 WASHINGTON, DC – The House Appropriations Committee today adopted an amendment by Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) to the Commerce, Justice, and State Departments’ funding bill for Fiscal Year 2005 that would block access to basic information sought by the city of New York in its pending lawsuit against the gun industry. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) led opposition to the amendment. “By denying New York City access to basic information…

For Release:  Tuesday, June 15, 2004 New York State Legislators Warn of Public Safety Threat Posed by Rifles That Can Penetrate Armor Plating and Destroy Aircraft Albany, NY – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today offered its strong support for legislation sponsored by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Member Patricia Eddington to ban 50 caliber sniper rifles. Fifty caliber sniper rifles can penetrate armor plating, pierce rail cars carrying toxic chemicals,…