Press Releases

For Release:  Wednesday, August 9, 2000 Texas Concealed Carry License Holder Offenses Include: Murder, Rape, Kidnapping, Weapon Crimes, Drunk Driving, and Domestic Violence A new study released today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) shows that Texas concealed handgun license holders have been arrested 3,370 times since the concealed handgun license law went into effect – an average of more than two arrests every day from January 1, 1996 until April 30, 2000. License to Kill III:…

For Release:  Tuesday, July 18, 2000 The Violence Policy Center strongly supports the “Pocket Rocket Elimination Act of 2000.” The bill will be introduced today, July 18, 2000 by Representative Rod Blagojevich (D-IL). The legislation would deal with a deadly new trend in the gun industry: pocket rockets. The dangers of this new breed of handgun is detailed in a new Violence Policy Center study, POCKET ROCKETS: THE GUN INDUSTRY’S SALE OF INCREASED KILLING POWER. The…

For Release: Monday, July 17, 2000 Study Explores How Gun Industry Increases Sales Through Increased Lethality Today, Monday, July 17, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) released Pocket Rockets: The Gun Industry’s Sale of Increased Killing Power. The 25-page study details how the gun industry has increased the lethality of its products by producing larger caliber, higher capacity and more readily concealable handguns in order to boost sales in a stagnant market. Tom Diaz, VPC senior policy analyst and…

For Release:  Wednesday, June 28, 2000 Texas Ranks #1 in All Categories The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released GUNLAND USA: A State-by-State Ranking of Gun Shows, Gun Retailers, Machine Guns, and Gun Manufacturers, a study that offers a snapshot of the firearms industry at the state level using the most recent data available. “This study gives a clear picture of each state’s role in the proliferation of firearms in America,” Marty Langley, policy analyst at the…

For Release:  Friday, May 19, 2000 In reaction to today’s announcement at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meeting that the organization planned to open an NRA cafe and store in New York City’s Times Square, the Violence Policy Center released the following statement by Josh Sugarmann, VPC Executive Director and author of the 1992 book NRA: Money, Firepower & Fear: “Today’s announcement by the NRA that they are opening an NRA cafe and store in…

For Release:  Tuesday, May 16, 2000 LaPierre Scrambles on CBS News to Deny Racist Language National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre has once again demonstrated the core values of the NRA’s leadership: hypocrisy and racism. As a guest on CBS News’ Face the Nation this past Sunday, LaPierre was asked about a recent column he wrote for American Rifleman in which he stated:  “There are many politicians willing to sacrifice the Second Amendment as the first step…

For Release: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 Yesterday’s shooting at the National Zoo in Washington, DC is unfortunately only the latest grisly example that this type of gun violence will continue until the decision is made to ban handguns, the Violence Policy Center, a Washington, DC-based gun control organization, stated today. VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann states, “Yesterday’s shooting at a major tourist attraction in the nation’s capital provides stark proof that no one is safe in…

For Release:  Tuesday, April 25, 2000 Black youths have higher rates of firearm homicide than any other racial/ethnic group. The firearms homicide rate for black youths is more than twice the rate for Hispanic youths, more than three times the rate for Asian youths and nearly 10 times the rate for white youths. In 1997, black males, 17 years of age and younger, had a firearms homicide rate of 10.3 per 100,000. In 1997, black males, aged…

For Release: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 Smith & Wesson has made public its interpretation of the “landmark” March 17, 2000 agreement between the handgun maker, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and some cities suing the gun industry. The document candidly states that the agreement for the most part merely codifies the company’s current business practices. It also shows that many of the initial claims surrounding the March 17 pact were false or wildly exaggerated.…

For Release:  Tuesday, March 21, 2000 The VPC today released Guns for Felons: How the NRA Works to Rearm Criminals. The 17-page study details the ways in which the NRA has helped make guns available to convicted felons through the federal “relief from disability” program. The study was released at an 11:00 AM press conference with: VPC Director of Federal Policy Kristen Rand; Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY); Representative John Conyers (D-MI), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee;…

For Release:  Friday, March 17, 2000 “The problem is not the guns….These people that they call children, in my mind, are little criminals and ought to be arrested.” Smith & Wesson President and CEO Ed Shultz, “Smith & Wesson Survives New Age,” The Sunday Gazette Mail, May 28, 1995. Smith & Wesson 2100 Roosevelt Avenue P.O. Box 2208 Springfield, MA 01102 (413) 781-8300 According to 1998 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms production figures (the most recent…

For Release: Wednesday, March 15, 2000 New Survey Details Regional Gun Ownership Rates as Well as Attitudes on Handgun Ban, Safety Regulation of Gun Industry A new report from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago details for the first time both gun ownership patterns and views on gun control for all census regions of the country while also looking at the states of California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The study, Attitudes…

For Release: Wednesday, March 1, 2000 The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released Unsafe in Any Hands: Why America Needs to Ban Handguns. The nine-page study details the overwhelming role handguns play in gun death and injury in the United States and calls for a national discussion on banning them. “Yesterday’s shooting in Michigan is only the latest shocking, yet now all too predictable, event made possible by the easy availability of small, easily concealable, increasingly lethal…

For Release: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today denounced H.R. 2366, the “Small Business Liability Reform Act,” legislation that would protect many gun manufacturers and virtually all gun dealers. In support of its charges, the VPC released its new study,  Deadly Exceptions: Gun Manufacturers That Would be Protected by the “Small Business” Cap on Punitive Damages, at a Capitol Hill press conference held at 9:45 AM in Rayburn HOB Room 2226. Scheduled…

According to the Detroit News, a 32-caliber Davis Industries semiautomatic pistol was allegedly used by a 6-year-old boy to shoot and kill his first grade classmate. Dealer literature describes the Davis P-32 as “our original pocket pistol.” Davis Industries Pistols Traced to Crime Scenes by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in 1997 Area 32 caliber pistols All pistols Michigan 57 242 U.S. Total 1,062 4,722 Davis Industries Pistol Production History Year .22 .25 .32…

For Release: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 Amendment to Bankruptcy Reform Measure Would Prevent Gun Manufacturers from “Taking Advantage of the System” The Senate is set to consider an amendment by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) to ensure that gun manufacturers cannot escape responsibility for debts incurred as a result of lawsuits filed by consumers or municipalities. Sen. Levin’s amendment will be considered during debate on S. 625, a bill to overhaul the nation’s bankruptcy laws. This will…

For Release: Wednesday, January 12, 2000 The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today condemned the gun industry trade group the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) for kicking off its annual gun trade show, the SHOT Show, on the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated with a Remington rifle in 1968. This is not the first time that pro-gun organizations have drawn fire over the issue of inappropriate scheduling: the National Rifle Association (NRA)…

For Release:  Tuesday, December 21, 1999 The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released The Endgame, a report detailing three areas that must be reformed within the gun industry in order for a settlement of lawsuits filed by major cities against the industry to have any significant effect in reducing firearms violence. Public statements by some involved in ongoing talks with the gun industry indicate a growing desire to quickly reach a settlement. The VPC is strongly…

For Release: Tuesday, December 7, 1999 The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released Cashing in on the New Millennium, a report detailing the gun industry’s shameless exploitation of fears that the Y2K bug will lead to a social meltdown in order to sell more firearms to an already saturated market. Some gun makers have even issued “special edition” Y2K guns, such as the Bushmaster Y2K Limited Edition AR-15 assault rifle and the Wilson Combat Millennium Protector .45…

For Release:  Tuesday, December 7, 1999 News reports identify the handgun used in the December 6, 1999 middle school shooting in Ft. Gibson, OK as a Taurus 9mm semiautomatic pistol with a 15-round magazine, sold in 1993. Although the precise model has not yet been publicly identified, examination of the company’s product line indicates that the gun is most likely the Taurus Model PT-92 or an almost identical variant, the PT-99. The Company Taurus is…