Press Releases

For Release: Wednesday, January 26, 2022 Manufacturer Says Its JR-15 Child-Sized Assault Rifle “looks, feels, and operates just like Mom and Dad’s gun” Washington, DC — An Illinois-based gun manufacturer is marketing AR-15 assault rifles designed specifically for children. Manufactured by WEE1 Tactical, and dubbed the JR-15, the company states that the child-sized assault rifles are 20 percent smaller than a standard AR-15, weigh only 2.2 pounds, and retail for $389. The company promises that…

For Release: Wednesday, November 3, 2021 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 will hear oral arguments in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Kevin P. Bruen, Superintendent of the New York State Police. The association’s suit challenges a state law enacted in 1911 that allows…

For Release: Wednesday, September 29, 2021 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 2019 Homicide Data. Each year…

For Release: Wednesday, September 29, 2021 Annual study ranks the states by the rate of females killed by males in advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October Washington, DC — Nearly 1,800 women were murdered by men in 2019 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 2019 Homicide Data. Each year…

For Release: Wednesday, September 22, 2021 Concealed handgun permit holders have committed at least 37 fatal mass shootings and killed at least 24 law enforcement officers since 2007 Washington – The Violence Policy Center is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold New York state’s concealed handgun law, arguing that the statute legitimately prevents gun violence, including mass shootings and the deaths of law-enforcement personnel. With the pro bono assistance of law firm Davis Wright…

For Release: Thursday, September 16, 2021 Gun Marketing Exploits Rise in Hate Crimes during Pandemic WASHINGTON, DC – Exploiting the increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, the gun industry is targeting the Asian American community as potential new gun buyers and future pro-gun advocates, according to How the Firearms Industry Markets Guns to Asian Americans, a new study from the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The study was released today at…

For Release: Wednesday, September 8, 2021 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 2019 data (the most recent year available) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.…

Para divulgarse: Miércoles, 28 de julio de 2021 Más de 4,000 hispanos fueron asesinados con armas de fuego en 2019 Haga click aquí para esta nota de prensa en inglés. Washington, DC — Cerca de 70,000 hispanos fueron asesinados con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos entre 1999 y 2019, con un promedio anual de más de 3,300 muertes por armas de fuego, según un nuevo estudio realizado por el Violence Policy Center (VPC),…

For Release: Wednesday, July 28, 2021 More than 4,000 Hispanics were killed by guns in 2019 Para la versión en español haga “click” aquí. Washington, DC — Nearly 70,000 Hispanics were killed with guns in the United States from 1999 through 2019, with an average of more than 3,300 gun deaths per year, according to a new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC), a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury.…

For Release: Wednesday, May 26, 2021 Washington, DC — Following the mass shooting today at the Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in San Jose, California, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: Every American has become an unwilling participant in a lethal lottery that randomly kills innocent people who are simply going about their daily lives. The only things that change are the location, number of innocent victims killed,…

For Release: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 Missouri has the Highest Black Homicide Victimization Rate in the Nation for the Fifth 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 86 percent of Black homicide victims nationwide were killed with guns. Of these, two thirds were killed…

For Release: Friday, April 16, 2021 Washington, DC — Following the mass shooting yesterday at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana that left eight victims dead and several others wounded before the shooter took his own life, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “In the past five weeks we’ve witnessed a shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado leaving 10 dead, an attack on a series of spas in…

For Release: Thursday, April 8, 2021 Washington, DC — Following the announcement by the Biden Administration of a series of executive actions on guns, including proposed rules to stop the proliferation of ghost guns and pistol “stabilizing braces” that effectively turn assault pistols into short-barreled assault rifles, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “The measures announced by the administration on ghost guns and pistol braces are important first steps…

For Release: Tuesday, March 30, 2021 New VPC Study Describes Safety Threat to Gun Owners and the General Public Washington, DC — As gun sales have increased over the past 12 months, few new gun buyers are aware that the firearm they’ve purchased may be dangerously defective or lack proven safety features (such as an indicator that shows whether the gun is loaded). A new study from the Violence Policy Center (VPC), Misfire: The Gun…

For Release: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 Washington, DC — Following the mass shooting yesterday at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado that reportedly involved an AR-15 assault rifle and left 10 dead, including a Boulder police officer, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “Once again, a military-bred assault rifle was used for the exact purpose for which it was designed: to kill and injure as many people as…

For Release: Thursday, March 11, 2021 Washington, DC – Following introduction today of House and Senate bills to ban semiautomatic assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Legislative Director Kristen Rand issued the following statement: “Semiautomatic assault weapons equipped with large-capacity ammunition magazines incorporate characteristics specifically designed to make these guns more lethal on the battlefield, yet under federal law they are sold as easily as bolt-action hunting rifles. As a result…

For Release: Thursday, February 11, 2021 Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Rhode Island Have Lowest Gun Death Rates in the Nation Alaska, Mississippi, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Alabama Have Highest Gun Death Rates in the Nation Washington, DC — Just-released WISQARS data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control show that states with the lowest rates of overall gun death in the nation are those…

For Release: Wednesday, February 3, 2021 Analysis Released Following Florida Assault-Weapon Attack That Left Two FBI Agents Dead and Three Wounded Washington, DC — One in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty from 2016 to 2018 were killed with an assault weapon, according to new research by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). As seen in the graphic below, from 2016 to 2018 (the most recent years for which information is available)…

Fecha de divulgación: lunes, 25 de enero de, 2021 Haga click aquí para esta nota de prensa en inglés. Washington, DC- En respuesta al estancmiento de su mercado tradicional constituido por hombres de raza blanca, la industria de armas de fuego y la Asociación Naconal del Rifle ahora se están enfocando en negros y latinos como potenciales nuevos compradores de armas, según un nuevo estudio del Violence Policy Center (VPC). El informe titulado Cómo la…

For Release: Monday, January 25, 2021 Para la versión en español haga “click” aquí. Washington, DC–In response to stagnation in the traditional white male market, the gun industry and National Rifle Association (NRA) are now targeting Blacks and Latinos as potential new gun buyers according to a new study from the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The 39-page report, How the Firearms Industry and NRA Market Guns to Communities of Color, documents efforts begun in 2015…