Press Releases

Nearly Two-Thirds of Guns Obtained by Traffickers in Cases Studied Were Semiautomatic Assault Weapons, Armor-Piercing Handguns, or 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles Washington, D.C.–U.S. court records from southwestern states clearly show that illegal gun traffickers involved in smuggling firearms to Mexico seek semiautomatic assault weapons, armor-piercing handguns, and 50 caliber anti-armor sniper rifles from U.S. gun […]

Study of Gun-Trafficking Problem Concludes President Obama and Attorney General Holder Could Use 1968 Law to Immediately Stop Import into U.S. of AK-47s and Other Assault Weapons Smuggled to Mexico Washington, D.C.—The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released Iron River: Gun Violence and Illegal Firearms Trafficking on the U.S.-Mexico Border, a comprehensive study of how […]

Washington, DC–A recently unsealed indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Miami, Florida, adds a Colombian terrorist organization to the growing list of terror entities that have chosen the 50 caliber anti-armor sniper rifle as a favorite weapon, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) warned today. The indictment was returned on January 3, 2006, […]

New Violence Policy Center Study Includes Previously Classified U.S. Secret Service Report Warning of Danger to President and Civil Aviation from Easily Obtained Sniper Rifles Washington, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released a new study detailing the concerns of a wide spectrum of national security experts about the terrorism threat posed by […]

Law Comes Less Than Three Years After Violence Policy Center First Identified Threat Posed by These Readily Available Tools of Terror Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Bill That Bans Rifles That Can Destroy Aircraft, Down Helicopters, and Penetrate Armor Plating Washington, DC – California yesterday became the first state in the nation to ban 50 caliber sniper […]

New VPC Analysis Warns of Terror Threat Posed by 50 Caliber Rifles to Helicopters, VPC Also Warns of Threat to Armor-Plated Vehicles New York, NY – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today joined Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) in calling for a federal ban on 50 caliber, anti-armor sniper rifles. Fifty caliber sniper rifles can penetrate […]

Latest Proof of Gun Industry’s Evasion of Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Scheduled to Expire on September 13, 2004 and Need for Law to be Strengthened More Than One Million Assault Weapons Marketed Since Ban’s Passage in 1994 Washington, DC – More than 40 gunmakers in 22 states are currently marketing “post-ban” assault weapons including UZIs, […]

New VPC Report Dissects FCI Distortions, Dismantles Pro-Gun Group’s Defense of Civilian Sale of Deadly 50 Caliber Anti-Armor Rifles, Links FCI to Sniper Rifle Industry Washington, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released Really Big Guns, Even Bigger Lies, a report rebutting a series of distortions and misstatements made by the Fifty Caliber […]

Bullet Hoses Documents History of Assault Weapons, Shows That Widely Available Civilian Assault Weapons Incorporate Specific Military Design Features for “Laying Down a High Volume of Fire Over a Wide Killing Zone” WASHINGTON, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released a new study, Bullet Hoses: Semiautomatic Assault Weapons What Are They? What’s So […]

Bush Administration Ignores Danger in “War on Terrorism” VPC Releases “Just Like Bird Hunting” The Threat to Civil Aviation from 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles WASHINGTON, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released “Just Like Bird Hunting” The Threat to Civil Aviation from 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles, which details the threat of military-bred 50 […]