Press Releases

For Release: Wednesday, September 4, 2024 Demand Answers About the Weapons Used and How They Were Procured Washington, DC — In the wake of our nation’s most recent mass shooting at a public school, this time at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, it is vital that the media, policymakers, and general public demand answers about the firearms (or firearm) used by the alleged perpetrator and how the guns (or gun) were procured. Five specific…

For Release: Tuesday, July 9, 2024 Missouri has Highest Rate of Black Homicide Victimization in the Nation Washington, DC — Guns are by far the most common weapon used to kill Black homicide victims in America according to Black Homicide Victimization in the United States: An Analysis of 2022 Homicide Data, a new study from the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The study shows that in 2022 there were 13,466 Black homicide victims in the United…

For Release: Wednesday, June 5, 2024 Guns claimed nearly 1,800 Illinois lives in homicides, suicides, and unintentional deaths, according to latest data CHICAGO — Guns claimed the lives of nearly 1,800 Illinois residents in 2022 according to Gun Death in Illinois: Annual Report, a new joint report by One Aim Illinois, the state’s leading gun violence prevention organization, and the Violence Policy Center (VPC), a national research and advocacy organization working to stop gun death…

For Release: Thursday, May 16, 2024 Holders of a Federal Gun Manufacturing License Can Use It to Undercut Federal Gun Laws, Buy Guns in Quantity and at Wholesale Prices New VPC Online Tool Allows Users to Answer the Question, “Is my next-door neighbor a federally licensed gun manufacturer?” Washington, DC — Thousands of Americans possess a federal license to manufacture firearms, yet relatively few actually produce any guns according to America’s Hidden Gun Manufacturers, a…

For Release: Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, Alabama, and Missouri Have Highest Gun Death Rates in the Nation Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Jersey, and New York Have Lowest Gun Death Rates in the Nation Washington, DC — New data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that states with the highest rates of overall gun death in the nation are those with weak gun violence prevention laws…

For Release: Tuesday, April 30, 2024 New Website is Part of VPC’s Ongoing Campaign for Gun Industry Accountability Washington, DC – Today the Violence Policy Center (VPC) launched a new online resource center for its ongoing Campaign for Gun Industry Accountability. As the welcome page to the new website states, “Guns are the only consumer product manufactured in the United States that are not subject to federal health and safety regulation. This unique exemption has…

For Release: Thursday, February 1, 2024 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 2,512 deaths not involving self-defense since 2007, VPC research shows. Details on these fatal incidents can be found on Concealed Carry Killers (concealedcarrykillers.org), an ongoing online resource that provides examples…

For Release: Friday, January 5, 2024 Washington, DC — Following the resignation announcement today by National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center (VPC) and author of the 1992 book NRA: Money, Firepower, and Fear and the VPC’s Blood Money studies, which first detailed the gun industry’s financial support of the NRA, issued the following statement: Today’s announcement by Wayne LaPierre continues a decades-long history…

For Release: Thursday, December 14, 2023 Guns claimed nearly 2,000 Illinois lives in homicides, suicides, and unintentional deaths, according to latest data Washington, DC — Guns claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 Illinois residents in 2021 according to Gun Death in Illinois, a new joint report by One Aim Illinois, the state’s leading gun violence prevention organization, and the Violence Policy Center (VPC), a national research and advocacy organization working to stop gun death and…

Para divulgación: miércoles, 6 de diciembre de 2023 Más de 5,700 hispanos fueron asesinados en 2021. Para la versión en inglés haga “click” aquí. Washington, DC — Cerca de 75,000 hispanos fueron asesinados con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos entre 2001 y 2021 según Víctimas hispanas de violencia letal con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos (Hispanic Victims of Lethal Firearms Violence in the United States) un nuevo estudio realizado por el…

For Release: Wednesday, December 6, 2023 More than 5,700 Hispanics were killed by guns in 2021 Para la versión en español haga “click” aquí. Washington, DC — Nearly 75,000 Hispanics were killed with guns in the United States from 2001 through 2021 according to Hispanic Victims of Lethal Firearms Violence in the United States a new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC), a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. During…

For Release: Tuesday, October 31, 2023 Washington, DC — Following the recent mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine committed with a Ruger SFAR assault rifle that left 18 victims dead and 13 wounded at two locations, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released a 13-page backgrounder (https://vpc.org/studies/ruger-maine.pdf) on the assault weapon manufacturer, including details on the model of gun used in the shooting. In addition to information on the Ruger SFAR assault rifle, the report offers…

For Release: Thursday, October 26, 2023 Washington, DC — Following the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine by a gunman reportedly armed with an assault rifle, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “Once again, Americans going about their daily lives have become the innocent victims of a mass shooting. The only things that change are the location, number of victims killed, and the families, friends, and co-workers left bereft and…

For Release: Monday, October 30, 2023 VPC Releases New Edition of Its National Analysis of Murder-Suicide During Domestic Violence Awareness Month Washington, DC — The majority of murder-suicide victims are women shot and killed by their male intimate partner, according to the latest edition of American Roulette: Murder-Suicide in the United States. The study was released today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This is the eighth edition of the…

For Release: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 Eight states ranked in the top 10 in more than half of the past 25 years in the rate of females killed by males: Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee VPC Temporarily Halts Publication of Its Annual When Men Murder Women Report Due to Lack of Reliable Information Resulting From Changes in How the FBI Collects Crime Data Washington, DC — Today the Violence…

For Release: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 Highest Rates in States with Higher Gun Ownership Rates, Weaker Gun Violence Prevention Laws New VPC Analysis Released During National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in September Washington, DC — States with lower rates of gun ownership and stronger gun violence prevention laws have the lowest overall suicide rates in the nation according to a new Violence Policy Center (VPC) analysis of 2021 data (the most recent year available) from…

For Release: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 Washington, DC –The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today launched Assault on DC, a new online research project offering examples of assault weapons routinely recovered by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in the District of Columbia. The new resource is available on the VPC’s website at: https://vpc.org/regulating-the-gun-industry/assault-on-dc/. “The common misconception is that assault weapons are used almost solely in mass shootings and that regulating or banning these military-bred guns only…

For Release: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 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 2,490 deaths not involving self-defense since 2007, VPC research shows. Details on these fatal incidents can be found on Concealed Carry Killers (concealedcarrykillers.org), an ongoing online resource that provides examples…

For Release: Wednesday, April 26, 2023 94 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 50.98 per 100,000—more than twice the national Black homicide victimization rate and eight and a half times the overall homicide rate nationwide—according to a new analysis by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). In addition to national data, the annual…

For Release: Wednesday, October 25, 2023 Violence Policy Center: Demand Answers About the Weapons Used and How They Were Procured Washington, DC – In the wake of any public mass shooting, it is vital that the media, policymakers, and general public demand answers about the firearms the perpetrator used and how they were procured. Five specific questions to ask include: 1–What type of firearms were used in the attack – and what is the make…