Press Releases

For Release:   Wednesday, October 22, 2003 Washington, DC – In response to the introduction today of the “Terrorist Firearms Detection Act of 2003” by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), the Violence Policy Center released the following statement by Legislative Director Kristen Rand: The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today applauded Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) for introducing the “Terrorist Firearms Detection Act of 2003.” Without Congressional action, the federal ban on non-detectable firearms non-metallic handguns that can evade…

For Release:  Wednesday, October 22, 2003 S. 1751 Would Have Benefitted Unregulated Gun Industry at Expense of Victims of Firearms Violence WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Violence Policy Center (VPC), a national gun violence prevention organization, hailed today’s vote by the U.S. Senate in opposition to S. 1751, the “Class Action Fairness Act.” The VPC opposes the bill as an egregious invasion of the rights of victims of gun violence and firearm consumers. The bill would deny victims…

For Release:  Wednesday, October 1, 2003 Ban Will End on September 13, 2004 Without Congressional and White House Action WASHINGTON, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today announced its strong support for the “Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003,” legislation introduced by Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). The legislation would renew the 1994 federal assault weapons ban. More importantly, the bill would significantly strengthen current law to…

For Release:   Tuesday, September 30, 2003 Ban Will End on September 13, 2004 Without Action This Congress, Website Asks, “President Bush, Where do You Stand?” WASHINGTON, DC – With less than one year until the federal assault weapons ban expires, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) today launched an aggressive new campaign and companion website, www.banassaultweapons.org, aimed at renewing and strengthening the federal assault weapons ban. The website demands action by President Bush, asking,”President Bush, where…

For Release:   Thursday, September 25, 2003 Study, Released for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Ranks South Carolina #1 in Rate of Women Murdered by Men WASHINGTON, DC—The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2001 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…

For Release:  Wednesday, August 13, 2003 Board Directs County Counsel to Draft Language to Ban Easily Purchased Weapons that Can Destroy Aircraft, Petrochemical Tanks, and Other Key Infrastructure Washington, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today hailed a 5-0 vote yesterday by the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors endorsing a ban on the sale of 50 caliber sniper rifles. The board directed its attorneys to draft the ordinance outlawing the sale of the rifles…

For Release:   Wednesday, July 23, 2003 WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed appropriations legislation for the Commerce, Justice, and State Departments containing a National Rifle Association (NRA)-backed amendment sponsored by Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) that would severely undermine enforcement of federal gun laws, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) charged today. VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand states, “The worst part of the Tiahrt amendment would require the federal Bureau of Alcohol,…

For Release:  Monday, July 21, 2003 Amendment Would Also Severely Weaken Gun Dealer Oversight By ATF WASHINGTON, DC—A National Rifle Association (NRA)-backed amendment inserted by Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) at the last minute into fiscal year 2004 appropriations legislation for the Commerce, Justice and State Departments would dramatically increase the number of “kitchen-table” gun dealers across America, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) charged today. The surprise amendment, adopted last week by the House Appropriations Committee…

For Release:  Monday, July 21, 2003 WASHINGTON, DC – A federal judge today dismissed a case filed by the NAACP against the firearms industry based on the fact that the organization had not proven a “special injury” under New York law, but, in a 176-page decision, Judge Jack B. Weinstein found that the gun industry’s conduct contributed to the use of its products to commit crimes and acts of violence. Finding that the NAACP had…

For Release:   Friday, June 27, 2003 2002 Credit Card Armies Study Described Exact Scenario WASHINGTON, DC – A federal terrorism indictment released today by the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia tracks exactly a scenario the Violence Policy Center (VPC) warned against in its 2002 study Credit Card Armies: Firearms and Training for Terror in the United States. The VPC report described the ease with which potential terrorists can arm themselves under America’s weak…

For Release:  Thursday, May 22, 2003 Bullet Hoses Documents History of Assault Weapons, Shows That Widely Available Civilian Assault Weapons Incorporate Specific Military Design Features for “Laying Down a High Volume of Fire Over a Wide Killing Zone” WASHINGTON, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released a new study, Bullet Hoses: Semiautomatic Assault Weapons What Are They? What’s So Bad About Them? The study traces the design history of assault weapons from the 1944 Nazi…

For Release:  Wednesday, May 14, 2003 VPC Study, “Officer Down” Assault Weapons and the War on Law Enforcement, Reveals That One in Five Law Enforcement Officers Slain in the Line of Duty Is Killed with an Assault Weapon  More Than 20 Percent of Assault Weapon Police Deaths Occurred in Texas WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s promise that he will allow the federal assault weapons ban to expire in September 2004 will keep America’s…

For Release:  Thursday, May 8, 2003 WASHINGTON, DC The Violence Policy Center (VPC) announced its strong support for the “Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003,” legislation introduced today by Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and John Conyers (D-MI). The legislation would renew a 1994 federal law banning certain assault weapons. More importantly, the bill would significantly strengthen current law to address limitations in the ban that have allowed the gun industry to circumvent…

For Release:   Thursday, May 8, 2003 “Officer Down”—Assault Weapons and the War on Law Enforcement Demonstrates the Need for Strengthening and Renewing Assault Weapons Ban WASHINGTON, DC—The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released “Officer Down”—Assault Weapons and the War on Law Enforcement, which reveals the threat of assault weapons to law enforcement officers throughout the United States. The 26-page study reveals that at least 41 of the 211 law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty between January…

For Release:  Thursday, April 24, 2003 Second School Shooting in as Many Weeks Firearm Murder-Suicide Claimed 37 Lives in Pennsylvania in First Half of 2001, Violence Policy Center Report, American Roulette, Reveals WASHINGTON, DC – Today’s firearm murder-suicide involving a student shooting his principal and then himself at Red Lion Area Jr. High in south-central Pennsylvania is yet another disturbing example of the continued torment easy access to firearms brings to our nation, the Violence Policy…

WASHINGTON, DC – On the eve of the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting, President Bush has kept his 2000 campaign promise and reaffirmed his support for the federal ban on assault weapons, Knight Ridder news service reported this past weekend. According to White House spokesperson Scott McClellan, “The President supports the current law, and he supports reauthorization of the current law.” The federal assault weapons ban is scheduled to expire on September 13, 2004. The…

For Release:   Wednesday, April 9, 2003 Bill Would Force Dismissal of Current NAACP Suit Against Gun Industry  WASHINGTON, DC -Today, in a lead-up to the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R.1036) that would give sweeping protection from civil liability to the firearms industry. The gun industry is already one of only two producers of consumer products exempt from federal health and safety regulation the tobacco industry is the other.…

For Release:  Wednesday, March 5, 2003 Latest Edition of Firearms Production in America Shows Handgun Production in 2000 was Lowest Since 1978 Washington, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released the latest edition of Firearms Production in America which details gun production in the United States from 1975 to 2000. The report reveals that in 2000 (the most recent year for which data is available) 1,282,000 handguns were produced in the United States, the fewest since 1978. The…

For Release:   Wednesday, March 5, 2003 Ban Will End in September 2004 Without Congressional Action Washington, DC – Attorney General John Ashcroft, in testimony before Congress yesterday, for the first time refused to offer support for re-authorizing the federal ban on assault weapons. Ashcroft’s comments before the Senate Judiciary Committee represent an apparent reversal of Bush Administration policy as well as Ashcroft’s prior statements before the committee. During his January 2001 confirmation hearing, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein…

For Release:  Friday, January 31, 2003 Bush Administration Ignores Danger in “War on Terrorism”  VPC Releases “Just Like Bird Hunting” The Threat to Civil Aviation from 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles WASHINGTON, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released “Just Like Bird Hunting” The Threat to Civil Aviation from 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles, which details the threat of military-bred 50 caliber sniper rifles to aviation and passengers throughout the United States. The 32-page study discusses…