January, 10 2011, 02:35pm EDT
Semiautomatic Pistol Used in Arizona Shooting Is Same Model Handgun Used in Virginia Tech Shooting
Violence Policy Center (VPC) Issues Backgrounder on Glock 19 Pistol, High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines Used in Arizona Shooting; VPC Calls on Congress to Ban High-Capacity Magazines, Save Lives
WASHINGTON
The same model handgun used in the shooting of Representative Gabrielle
Giffords (D-AZ) and 19 others on Saturday was also used in the 2007 Virginia
Tech massacre, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) pointed out today in a
backgrounder released on the Glock 19 pistol and ammunition magazine used in
the Arizona attack (see
https://www.vpc.org/fact_sht/AZbackgrounder.pdf
for backgrounder).
Similar
semiautomatic firearms with high-capacity magazines have been used in most
major mass shootings in the United
States in the past 30 years.
The VPC is calling
on Congress to pass a new law banning the manufacture and sale of high-capacity
magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. A similar
ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines was in place for 10 years as part of
the now-expired federal assault weapons ban.
"Simply put, high-capacity ammunition magazines make mass shootings
possible by allowing shooters to fire multiple rounds very quickly without
reloading. An effective ban on high-capacity magazines will help prevent
tragedies like the one that claimed six lives and wounded numerous others last
Saturday," said Kristen Rand,
VPC legislative director. "We can save
lives in the future with this simple, effective proposal."
The Violence Policy Center (VPC) works to stop gun death and injury through research, education, advocacy, and collaboration. Founded in 1988 by Executive Director Josh Sugarmann, a native of Newtown, Connecticut, the VPC informs the public about the impact of gun violence on their daily lives, exposes the profit-driven marketing and lobbying activities of the firearms industry and gun lobby, offers unique technical expertise to policymakers, organizations, and advocates on the federal, state, and local levels, and works for policy changes that save lives. The VPC has a long and proven record of policy successes on the federal, state, and local levels, leading the National Rifle Association to acknowledge us as "the most effective ... anti-gun rabble-rouser in Washington."
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