Press Releases

For Release: Tuesday, June 19, 2018 Nine out of 10 murder-suicides involve a gun, 65 percent involve an intimate partner Lack of National Data Collection Leaves Full Scope of Murder-Suicide Unknown Washington, DC — More than 1,300 people died in murder-suicides in America in 2017 and 91 percent of the killers used a gun, according to a comprehensive new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). This is the sixth edition of the VPC’s American…

For Release: Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Montana, Alaska Have Highest Gun Suicide Rates in the Nation; New Jersey, Massachusetts Have Lowest Washington, DC—Data for 2016 reveals that states with weak gun violence prevention laws and higher rates of gun ownership have the highest gun suicide rates in the nation, according to a Violence Policy Center (VPC) analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. In…

Rank State Rate 9 Alabama 11.31 2 Alaska 15.23 14 Arizona 10.89 11 Arkansas 11.08 43 California 4.06 12 Colorado 11.06 46 Connecticut 3.08 39 Delaware 6.83 29 Florida 8.11 27 Georgia 8.45 47 Hawaii 2.59 6 Idaho 12.77 44 Illinois 3.95 25 Indiana 8.91 35 Iowa 7.27 26 Kansas 8.84 10 Kentucky 11.16 22 Louisiana 9.40 28 Maine 8.41 42 Maryland 4.17 49 Massachusetts 2.06 37 Michigan 7.22 41 Minnesota 6.01 24 Mississippi 8.97…

For Release:  Friday, May 18, 2018 Following the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas which according to news reports resulted in at least eight deaths and an unknown number of injuries, Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “Once again the nation mourns innocent children shot dead at school, a place where they should feel and be safe. This time it is students at Sante Fe…

COMUNICAD PUBLICO: Miércoles 15 de mayo de 2018 WASHINGTON, D.C. – La propuesta del gobierno de Donald Trump para facilitar la exportación de armas militares conduciría a mayor violencia y delincuencia, advierten analistas quienes estudian del tráfico de armas. La propuesta trasladaría la responsabilidad para revisar las licencias para exportar armas de fuego, incluyendo a rifles de asalto, pistolas de alta capacidad, y rifles francotiradores que penetran a vehículos blindados, desde el Departamento de Estado…

For Release: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump Administration’s proposal to make it easier to export military-grade guns to other countries is likely to lead to increased violence and crime, warn analysts who study gun trafficking. The proposal disclosed today would transfer responsibility for reviewing licenses to export firearms—including assault-style rifles, high-capacity pistols, and armor-piercing sniper rifles—from the U.S. Department of State to the Department of Commerce. The proposed changes would also…

For Release: Wednesday, May 2, 2018 Washington, DC — As the National Rifle Association prepares to hold its annual meeting in Dallas this week (from Thursday, May 3 through Sunday, May 6), Josh Sugarmann, Violence Policy Center (VPC) executive director and author of the book NRA: Money, Firepower & Fear, charged that “today’s NRA is a gun industry trade association masquerading as a shooting sports foundation.” In making its case, the VPC offered the following…

For Release: Wednesday, April 18, 2018 93 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 46.24 per 100,000, which is nearly two and half times the national black homicide victimization rate and 10 times the overall homicide rate nationwide, according to a new analysis by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The annual study, Black…

For Release: Friday, April 13, 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 1,239 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 defense…

For Release: Thursday, March 8, 2018 Washington, DC —In the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the National Rifle Association has once again offered arming school personnel as a solution to school shootings. Yet ongoing Violence Policy Center (VPC) research shows that concealed handgun permit holders are responsible for 1,129 deaths not involving self defense since 2007. Thirty-one of the incidents were fatal mass shootings as defined…

For Release: Tuesday, March 6, 2018 “Start Them Young” documents how the gun lobby and firearms industry market guns to children Washington, DC—In the wake of the Parkland mass shooting and news reports detailing how the alleged gunman had participated in a school marksmanship program that had received funding from the National Rifle Association, there has been increased attention focused on firearms marketing to children and teens. Violence Policy Center (VPC) research, as detailed in…

For Release: Thursday, March 1, 2018 Washington, DC—In response to the gun violence prevention plan announced today by Senate Democrats, Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand Issued the following statement: “The time to act to reduce gun violence is now, before America experiences the next deadly mass shooting. An effective plan to ban assault weapons and enhance and expand background checks is imperative if we are to avert a future filled with mass shootings,…

Para divulgación inmediata: miércoles, 28 de febrero de 2018 Cada año en promedio más de 3,100 hispanos son asesinados con armas de fuego. Para la versión en inglés de este estudio, por favor haga click aquí. Washington, DC — Entre 1999 y 2015, cerca de 54,000 hispanos fueron asesinados con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos, con un promedio anual de más de 3,100 muertos por armas de fuego, según indica un nuevo estudio…

For Release: Wednesday, February 28, 2018 Each year on average more than 3,100 Hispanics are killed with guns Para la versión en español haga “click” aquí. Washington, DC — Nearly 54,000 Hispanics were killed with guns in the United States from 1999 through 2015, with an average of more than 3,100 gun deaths per year, according to a new study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The study finds that the overall homicide victimization rate…

For Release: Tuesday, February 27, 2018 Washington, DC—One in four law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty in 2016 were killed by an assault weapon, according to research by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). As seen in the graphic below, in 2016 (the most recent year for which data is available) 64 U.S. law enforcement officers (excluding Puerto Rico) were slain in the line of duty. Of these, 16 (25 percent) were killed…

For Release: Thursday, February 22, 2018 The Parkland high school shooting has prompted renewed debate regarding the idea of arming teachers or other school personnel to fend off attacks by armed intruders or students. Similar arguments were put forward by the gun lobby following the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado (this is even though armed personnel were present at Columbine, but were outgunned by the teen attackers) and the 2012 mass…

For Release: Tuesday, February 20,2018 “I think it’s important for everybody to step up and support the NRA. They are our voice,” stated Smith & Wesson CEO James Debney Washington, DC—Smith & Wesson, manufacturer of the M&P15 assault rifle used in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is a top gun industry financial contributor and “corporate partner” of the National Rifle Association (NRA), the Violence Policy Center (VPC) reported…

For Release: Friday, February 16, 2018 Washington, DC—Following news reports that the AR-15 style rifle used in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was a Smith & Wesson M&P15 assault rifle, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released Understanding the Smith & Wesson M&P15 Semiautomatic Assault Rifle. According to the VPC backgrounder, “The Smith & Wesson M&P15 assault rifle demonstrates the clear and present danger of a gun designed…

For Release: Thursday, February 15, 2018 Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida with an AR-15 style assault rifle that left 17 dead and more than 15 wounded, Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement: “Our nation mourns once again a horrific loss of life that should be unthinkable, yet is becoming routine. Assault weapons, like the AR-15 style weapon used in yesterday’s attack, are…

For Release: Wednesday, January 17, 2018 Latest Edition of Annual Violence Policy Center Analysis Also Ranks States by Their Overall Gun Death Rates Washington, DC — Gun deaths in the U.S. have jumped 17 percent since the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there is a right to keep a handgun in the home for self-defense, according to a new analysis by the Violence Policy Center…