January, 18 2011, 01:40pm EDT
Violence Policy Center Strongly Backs Ban on High-Capacity Magazines
VPC Releases “Accessories to Murder” Report with Images of High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines
WASHINGTON
The Violence Policy Center
(VPC), a national educational organization working to stop gun death and
injury, today hailed Representative Carolyn McCarthy's (D-NY) proposal to
ban high-capacity ammunition magazines at the Capitol Hill press conference
announcing the bill.
VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand states, "Semiautomatic firearms loaded with high-capacity
magazines - holding 15, 33, 50 or even 100 rounds of ammo - make mass shootings
possible. High-capacity magazines are the common thread that runs through
the most notorious and deadly mass shootings in America, including the Long
Island Railroad massacre, Luby's, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Fort
Hood. Representative McCarthy's simple and effective measure will save
lives."
The VPC today released a report, "Accessories to
Murder," which shows the variety of high-capacity magazines the gun
industry currently markets to its shrinking customer base. (Read
"Accessories to Murder: High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines," at https://www.vpc.org/studies/accessories.pdf.)
Last week, the VPC released a report on high-capacity
magazines used in 10 of America's
most notorious mass shootings. (Read "Ten Examples of High-Profile Mass
Shootings in the United States Involving High-Capacity Ammunition
Magazines," at https://www.vpc.org/fact_sht/VPCshootinglist.pdf).
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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