Press Releases

Campaign Research Notes, July 7, 2025 – In this update: Firearms posed against red, white, and blue backdrops, assault weapons emblazoned with the American flag, gun owners dressed in military garb — the 4th of July offers fertile ground for militarized marketing efforts from the firearms industry.

Campaign Research Notes, June 18, 2025 – With the changes on Capitol Hill and in the White House, the gun lobby and firearms industry have renewed their efforts to de-regulate silencers – firearm accessories that when attached to the barrel of a gun greatly reduce the sound of the weapon when fired.

Campaign Research Notes, May 29, 2025 – The NRA and gun industry use the show in their ongoing marketing efforts targeting women, children, and communities of color ─ while working to resell the traditional market of white males with increasingly militarized firearms, such as assault weapons.

Campaign Research Notes, May 15, 2025 – In recent years, a top priority for the gun lobby and firearms industry has been to expand the market for the sale of firearm silencers as a new profit center. This marketing shift was on full display at the public show of new guns that was the centerpiece of the NRA’s April 2025 annual meeting.

The VPC today released “Silencers: A Threat to Public Safety,” a new study detailing the public safety threat posed by firearm silencers. The study’s release comes as the firearms industry and gun lobby are pushing legislation on Capitol Hill to de-regulate silencers.

Hundreds of Michigan residents possess a federal license to manufacture firearms, yet relatively few actually produce any guns according to Michigan’s Hidden Gun Manufacturers, a new study from the VPC. Instead, the license can be used to bypass requirements that apply to unlicensed individuals buying a gun, such as background checks.

Campaign Research Notes, March 28, 2025 – In this industry update, we look at a new VPC study released earlier this month detailing the devastating impact of U.S. 50 caliber sniper rifles illegally trafficked to Mexico.

Campaign Research Notes, March 6, 2025 – In this industry update: As the gun lobby and firearms industry push federal legislation for coast-to-coast concealed carry, the latest update from the VPC’s Concealed Carry Killers project continues to show that despite claims that those who carry concealed, loaded handguns in public are “good guys” with guns, in reality the exact opposite is true.

Today the VPC released “Long Range Terror: How U.S. 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles Wreak Havoc in Mexico.” The 31-page study documents the prevalence of U.S.-sourced 50 caliber sniper rifles illegally trafficked to Mexico and how these weapons are used by cartels to terrorize civilians and attack and undermine government authorities.

Hoy, el VPC está dando a conocer “Terror de largo alcance: cómo rifles de francotirador calibre 50 estadounidenses hacen estragos en México”. Este estudio de 31 páginas documenta la prevalencia de rifles de francotirador calibre 50 de origen estadounidense e ilegalmente traficados a México, y cómo los carteles usan estas armas para aterrorizar a civiles y atacar y debilitar a las autoridades gubernamentales.