Press Releases

For Release: Friday, February 15, 2019 Washington, DC – Following Representative David Cicilline’s (D-RI) introduction today of a bill to ban semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand issued the following statement: “Semiautomatic assault weapons equipped with high-capacity ammunition magazines incorporate characteristics specifically designed for soldiers on the battlefield, yet under federal law they are sold as easily as bolt-action hunting rifles. As a result of the gun…

For Release: Wednesday, February 6, 2019 Washington, DC – As the House Judiciary Committee today holds its first hearing on gun violence prevention in eight years, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Legislative Director Kristen Rand issued the following statement: “For far too long, gun violence has been ignored by the House Judiciary Committee, the House of Representatives committee with primary jurisdiction over gun-related issues. Today, the Committee will finally hear from survivors of gun violence and…

For Release: Wednesday, January 23, 2019 Alaska, Montana, Alabama, Louisiana, and Missouri Have Highest Gun Death Rates in the Nation Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut Have Lowest 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 highest rates of overall gun death in the nation are those with weak…

For Release: Thursday, January 17, 2019 Washington, DC—Innocent victims, including law enforcement officers, continue to die at the hands of private citizens with permits to carry concealed handguns, according to Concealed Carry Killers (concealedcarrykillers.org), an online resource from the Violence Policy Center (VPC) that provides examples of non-self defense killings involving private citizens with permits to carry concealed handguns in public. The project’s most recent update reveals that since May 2007 concealed handgun permit holders…

For Release: Wednesday, January 9, 2019 Washington, DC–Following Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) introduction today of a bill to ban semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand issued the following statement: “Semiautomatic assault weapons equipped with high-capacity ammunition magazines incorporate characteristics specifically designed for soldiers on the battlefield, yet under federal law they are sold as easily as bolt-action hunting rifles. As a result of the gun industry’s hyper-marketing…

For Release: Tuesday, January 8, 2019 Washington, DC–Following Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) introduction today of a bill to ban semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand issued the following statement: “Semiautomatic assault weapons equipped with high-capacity ammunition magazines incorporate characteristics specifically designed for soldiers on the battlefield, yet under federal law they are sold as easily as bolt-action hunting rifles. As a result of the gun industry’s hyper-marketing…

For Release: Tuesday, November 20, 2018 Slain Chicago Police Officer is 22nd Law Enforcement Officer Killed by a Concealed Handgun Permit Holder Washington, DC — Monday’s attack at Mercy Hospital & Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois—which left three victims dead, including a law enforcement officer—is the most recent mass shooting perpetrated by a concealed handgun permit holder (according to police sources cited by the Chicago Tribune, the shooter had a concealed handgun permit). Including this…

For Release: Thursday, November 8, 2018 Washington, DC—Following news reports that the handgun used in the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, was a Glock 21 45 caliber pistol equipped with an extended high-capacity ammunition magazine, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released The Glock Pistol: A Favorite of Mass Shooters. According to the VPC backgrounder, “The high-capacity Glock pistol stands as a stark example of the gun industry’s…

For Release: Thursday, November 8, 2018 Following the mass shooting Wednesday night at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, with a Glock 45 caliber pistol that left 12 victims dead, including a law enforcement officer, Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “Across our nation, the unthinkable is becoming almost routine. Gun massacres have become so common that the questions of who, what, where, and why are now…

For Release: Tuesday, October 30, 2018 Washington, DC — Saturday’s assault rifle attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—which left 11 dead and six injured, including four law enforcement officers—is the most recent mass shooting perpetrated by a concealed handgun permit holder. Since 2007, at least 32 mass shootings (three or more fatalities) have been committed by concealed handgun permit holders across the nation. For a detailed list of lethal mass shootings…

For Release: Monday, October 29, 2018 Following the assault rifle attack by a concealed handgun permit holder at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—which left 11 dead and six injured, including four law enforcement officers—Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “This horrific attack is at least the 32nd mass shooting committed by a concealed handgun permit holder since 2007. As a nation we grieve for the victims. But…

For Release: Thursday, October 25, 2018 NRA Leadership and “Corporate Partners” Benefit Financially From Lack of Regulation Washington, DC–Numerous news sources report that at least some of the pipe bombs targeting political figures, the media, and others this week were constructed with black powder. Since the 1970s the National Rifle Association (NRA) has worked to block federal regulation of black and smokeless powder, according to the Violence Policy Center (VPC) report Time Bomb: How the…

For Release: Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Contest is open to high school students across the U.S. and submissions will be accepted through April 15, 2019 Washington, DC — The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today announced the launch of the 2018 Youth Against Gun Violence Scholarship Film Contest. The national competition, which is now accepting video/film entries from high-schoolers across America, seeks to amplify the voices of teens facing the reality of gun violence and the…

For Release: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 Annual VPC Study Released as Federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Set to Expire on September 30 and Domestic Violence Awareness Month Begins 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 2016 Homicide Data. For the…

For Release: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 Violence Policy Center Study Released as Federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Set to Expire on September 30 and Domestic Violence Awareness Month Begins in October Washington, DC — Women in the Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) are almost always murdered by someone they know, most commonly with a gun, according to the new Violence Policy Center study When Men Murder Women—The Great Lakes…

For Release: Tuesday, September 18, 2018 Annual Study Released as Federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Set to Expire on September 30 and Domestic Violence Awareness Month Begins in October Study Ranks States by Rate of Women Killed by Men Washington, DC — More than 1,800 women were murdered by men in 2016 and the most common weapon used was a gun, according to the new Violence Policy Center (VPC) study When Men Murder Women:…

For Release: Wednesday, September 12, 2018 Washington, DC — New research from the Violence Policy Center (VPC) confirms that, contrary to what the firearms industry and gun lobby claim, private citizens rarely use guns to kill criminals or stop crimes. The new study, Firearm Justifiable Homicides and Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use, utilizes recent federal data which shows that private citizens use guns to harm themselves or others far more often than to kill in self-defense.…

For Release: Thursday, August 2, 2018 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 1,259 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 online resource that provides examples of non-self…

For Release: Tuesday, July 10, 2018 Following the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand issued the following statement: “In the wake of recent horrific mass shootings involving semiautomatic assault rifles, President Trump has tapped a nominee who believes that bans on this category of military-bred firearm are unconstitutional. If Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination goes forward, we may well face a day when these weapons of…

For Release: Thursday, June 28, 2018 Following the mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, which resulted in five deaths, Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “A weary nation mourns yet again as we add newsrooms to the killing field that is modern-day America. With the routinization of public slaughter that now defines our nation, no place is safe and the only questions are when and where…