Press Releases

For Release: Wednesday, March 22, 2023 In 2019, for every justifiable homicide by a private citizen in the U.S. involving a gun, guns were used in 30 criminal homicides Washington, DC — Every time a gun is used by a private citizen to justifiably kill a criminal, guns claim 30 lives in criminal homicides alone, according to Firearm Justifiable Homicides and Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use, a just-released study from the Violence Policy Center (VPC). This…

For Release: Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island Have Lowest Gun Death Rates in the Nation Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Alabama Have Highest Gun Death Rates in the Nation Washington, DC — New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that states with the lowest rates of overall gun death in the nation are those with strong gun violence prevention laws and low…

For Release: Sunday, January 22, 2023 Washington, DC — Last night in Monterey Park, CA, a gunman opened fire at a ballroom dance studio during a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration which according to news reports left 10 dead and 10 injured. The Los Angeles Times cites witnesses who stated that the shooter was armed with a semiautomatic rifle and reloaded the weapon as he fired on the victims. Following the mass shooting, Violence Policy…

For Release: Tuesday, January 17, 2023 After Going Underground for a Year, WEE1 Tactical Returns with a Kinder, Gentler Marketing Campaign for its “JR-15” Child Assault Rifle Washington, DC — Roughly one year after provoking outrage and condemnation nationwide after it was revealed by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) that gun manufacturer WEE1 Tactical was launching sales of the “JR-15” – a semiautomatic AR-15 assault rifle designed specifically for children – the company has now…

For Release: Wednesday, December 14, 2022 Federal Logjam in New Congress Will Increase Importance of State-Based Action Washington, DC — Today, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) released 50 State Actions to Reduce Gun Violence, a 21-page report detailing a wide range of policy proposals that can be enacted on the state level to reduce gun death and injury. Recognizing the difficult fights ahead on Capitol Hill in the upcoming Congress, the study states, “State legislators,…

For Release: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 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 2020 data (the most recent year available) from…

For Release: Tuesday, September 20, 2022 Annual Violence Policy Center study ranks the states by the rate of females killed by males in advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October Washington, DC — Nine out of 10 Black women murdered by men are killed by someone they know, most often with a gun, according to the new Violence Policy Center (VPC) study When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2020 Homicide Data. Each year…

For Release: Tuesday September 20, 2022 Annual study ranks the states by the rate of females killed by males in advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October Washington, DC — More than 2,000 women were murdered by men in 2020 and the most common weapon used was a gun, according to the most recent edition of the annual Violence Policy Center (VPC) study When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2020 Homicide Data. Each…

For Release: Friday, July 29, 2022 Washington, DC – Following today’s passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of legislation to ban assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Government Affairs Director Kristen Rand issued the following statement: “Assault weapons are the clearest example of how today’s gun industry innovates for lethality rather than for safety. A ban on assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines is essential to making us all safer.…

For Release: Wednesday, July 13, 2022 Missouri has the Highest Black Homicide Victimization Rate in the Nation for the Sixth Year in a Row Washington, DC — Guns are by far the most common weapon used to kill Black homicide victims in America, according to a new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The study found that 88 percent of Black homicide victims nationwide were killed with guns. Of these, nearly two thirds were…

For Release: Wednesday, July 13, 2022 95 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 50.64 per 100,000—almost three times the national Black homicide victimization rate and more than 10 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,…

For Release: Thursday, June 23, 2022 VPC Research Shows Concealed Handgun Permit Holders Have Committed at Least 37 Fatal Mass Shootings and Killed at Least 24 Law Enforcement Officers Since 2007 Washington, DC – Today the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York state’s law regulating the issuance of concealed carry permits. The Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Kevin P. Bruen, Superintendent of the New York State Police…

For Release: Wednesday, May 25, 2022 Washington, DC — Following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the Violence Policy Center today published an online resource page with VPC research relevant to the attack. VPC Backgrounder on Daniel DefenseThis backgrounder contains information on Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the assault rifle used in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. This backgrounder contains rifle production information, prior mass…

For Release: Tuesday, May 24, 2022 Washington, DC — Following the mass shooting today at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which according to news reports left 19 children and two teachers dead before the shooter’s life was ended, Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “The cold horror of this attack should be unthinkable, but it has now become commonplace. Children’s lives are routinely sacrificed, families continually destroyed, and communities…

For Release: Monday, May 16, 2022 Washington, DC —The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released a new slide show of firearms industry ads and catalog images exposing the common themes that gunmakers use in their marketing of militarized weapons such as the Bushmaster XM-15 assault rifle used in the mass shooting this past weekend at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York. In the introduction to the three-part slide show, the VPC explains, “Militarization dominates…

For Release: Sunday, May 15, 2022 Washington, DC — Following the mass shooting yesterday at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York reportedly committed with a Bushmaster XM-15 assault rifle equipped with a high-capacity ammunition magazine that left 10 dead, including the store’s armed security guard, and three injured, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “Once again, a military-bred assault rifle equipped with a high-capacity ammunition magazine was used…

For Release: Thursday, April 28, 2022 Washington, DC — Gun deaths outpaced motor vehicle deaths in 34 states and the District of Columbia in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available, a new analysis from the Violence Policy Center (VPC) reveals. That year, gun deaths (including gun suicide, homicide, and fatal unintentional shootings) outpaced motor vehicle deaths (both occupant and pedestrian) in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho,…

For Release: Monday, January 31, 2022 WASHINGTON, DC – Today Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Global Exchange, March for Our Lives, Newtown Action Alliance and the Violence Policy Center—represented by the law firm Marten Law—filed an amicus brief in support of the Mexican Government’s lawsuit that seeks to hold gun industry members accountable for gun violence that they have facilitated in Mexico. The Mexican Government alleges that the gun…

For Release: Tuesday, February 1, 2022 More than 45,000 Americans Killed by Gunfire in 2020, the Highest Gun Death Toll on Record Mississippi, Wyoming, Louisiana, Alaska, Missouri, and Alabama Have Highest Gun Death Rates in the Nation; Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York Have Lowest Gun Death Rates in the Nation Washington, DC — New CDC WONDER data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that states with the highest…