Public policy advances that have emerged as the result of the work of the Violence Policy Center include:

• In 1992 the VPC released More Gun Dealers Than Gas Stations, a study of abuses by Federal Firearms License (FFL) holders. The study revealed that 80 percent of FFL holders did not operate storefront businesses, but sold guns from their homes. Many of the study's recommendations were adopted by the Administration and Congress, resulting in a dramatic reduction in the number of gun dealers—from more than 250,000 in 1992 to less than 55,000 today.
  
  
• In 1993 the VPC released Putting Guns Back into Criminals' Hands, which exposed a four-million-dollar-a-year federal program that helped rearm thousands of convicted, often violent, felons at taxpayer expense. As a result of the study the program was defunded and remains defunded to this day as the result of the VPC's efforts.
  
  
• In 1994 the VPC released its groundbreaking study Cease Fire: A Comprehensive Strategy to Reduce Firearms Violence. Cease Fire has two goals: to reframe firearms violence as a public health issue and to introduce a comprehensive, effective approach to regulate firearms in a manner similar to that currently applied to other inherently dangerous consumer products. This product safety approach has been implemented in both Massachusetts and California.
  
  
• In 1995, following the Oklahoma City bombing, the VPC focused public and press attention on the anti-government efforts of the National Rifle Association—including the now-infamous "jack-booted government thugs" direct-mail letter, as well as a bomb recipe the VPC obtained from an NRA-linked computer bulletin board. The widespread press coverage the VPC focused on the extremist rhetoric and agenda of the NRA helped stop the organization’s efforts to repeal the 1994 federal assault weapons ban.
  
  
• In 1996 the VPC released Gun Shows in America: Tupperware® Parties for Criminals, the first study to identify the myriad of problems associated with gun shows. Following the 1999 Columbine massacre, the VPC helped draft legislation that became the centerpiece of Congressional debate on efforts to close what became known as the “gun show loophole.”
  
  
• In 1996 the VPC was the lead group in building a coalition of more than 35 domestic violence, women's advocacy, religious, and health policy organizations in support of the "Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban." The law expands the list of those prohibited from possessing firearms to include those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses. To further detail the unique role firearms play in domestic violence, each year the VPC releases When Men Murder Women, which details, on a state-by-state basis, the circumstances of all reported homicides of women by men in single victim-single offender incidents. Released each year during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the studies are used by state and local activists to educate the public on the realities of domestic violence, as well as effective solutions to protect women and children from batterers.
  
  
• In 1997 the VPC released Joe Camel with Feathers: How the NRA with Gun and Tobacco Industry Dollars Uses its Eddie Eagle Program to Market Guns to Kids. This VPC report documents the NRA's aggressive marketing to youth, which follows a trail blazed by the tobacco industry. The study is one of numerous VPC reports focusing on the marketing of guns to children by the gun lobby and the firearms industry, as well as the effects of gun violence on children and youth. Others include: Safe at Home: How D.C.'s Gun Laws Save Children's Lives (2005); A .22 for Christmas (2001); Kids in the Line of Fire: Children, Handguns, and Homicide (2000); Start ‘Em Young: Recruitment of Kids to the Gun Culture (1999); Young Guns: How the Gun Lobby Nurtures America's Youth Gun Culture (1998); and, Kids Shooting Kids: Stories from Across the Nation of Unintentional Shootings Among Children and Youth (1997).
  
  
• In 1998 the VPC released "Small" Favors—A Sampling of Assault Weapon and Saturday Night Special Manufacturers That Would be Protected by the Product Liability Bill's "Small Business" Cap on Punitive Damages. The study revealed how proposed federal tort "reform" legislation would protect many of the most notorious gun manufacturers from civil litigation and close the courthouse doors to victims of gun violence. The study received widespread press coverage during congressional debate over the bill. The study contributed to the defeat of the product liability legislation in that Congress.
  
  
• In 1999 The New Press published the VPC's first book, Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America. Making A Killing is a first-of-its-kind exposé, revealing how the firearms industry has used increased lethality in an attempt to resuscitate stagnant gun markets.
  
  
• In 2001 the VPC launched www.ashcroftgunwatch.org, an outlet for information on then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's pro-gun, anti-public safety activities. The VPC was the first gun control organization to oppose John Ashcroft's nomination. Following the site's launch, the VPC: revealed how the Attorney General refused to allow law enforcement access to Brady Law records to see if suspected terrorists had attempted to purchase firearms; detailed the Justice Department's 180-degree shift in interpreting the Second Amendment, now claiming that it protects an individual right; and, revealed how criminals are now using this new interpretation to challenge gun laws.
  
  
• In 2001 the VPC released two first-of-their-kind reports. Hispanics and Firearms Violence was the first study to collect all nationally available information on firearms violence and Hispanics. Released at a Capitol Hill press conference with members of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus, the study's findings were covered by major media outlets in both English and Spanish. That same month, the VPC released Poisonous Pastime, a first-time look at the lead threat posed to children and the environment by indoor and outdoor shooting ranges.
  
  
• In 2001 the VPC released Voting from the Rooftops: How the Gun Industry Armed Osama bin Laden, Other Foreign and Domestic Terrorists, and Common Criminals With 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles. The study documents for the first time the burgeoning sales of 50 caliber sniper rifles—military bred weapons that can down helicopters and penetrate armor plating, yet are easier to purchase than a standard handgun. In a New York Times exclusive, the VPC study revealed that the Al Qaeda network had purchased at least 25 of the weapons in the United States. Since then, the VPC has continued its focus on the unique public safety and national security threats posed by 50 caliber sniper rifles as detailed in our studies on the topic, including—Sitting Ducks: The Threat to the Chemical and Refinery Industry From 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles; "Just Like Bird Hunting": The Threat to Civil Aviation From 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles; and, Clear and Present Danger: National Security Experts Warn About the Danger of Unrestricted Sales of 50 Caliber Anti-Armor Sniper Rifles to Civilians.
  
  
• In 2002 a new law was implemented in California requiring that all new handguns sold in the state include child safety devices that meet minimum safety standards. The VPC worked closely with California advocates to pass and implement this first-in-the-nation law which ensured that child safety devices would be effective to protect children from unintentional gunshot wounds.
  
  
• In 2003 the VPC released "Officer Down"—Assault Weapons and the War on Law Enforcement which analyzed FBI data revealing that one in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty was killed with an assault weapon. The study was widely cited by the news media and was a key tool for advocates working to renew and improve the federal assault weapons ban. Advocates in Columbus, Ohio, used the study to help secure passage of a city-wide assault weapons ban in 1995.
  
  
• In 2005, as the result of the VPC's work revealing the threat posed by 50 caliber sniper rifles, California became the first state in the nation to ban them. That same year, the VPC's work detailing the threat of 50 calibers was featured on 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, and other leading news magazine shows.
  
  
• In 2005, the VPC successfully defended Washington, DC's, strict gun laws—which ban handgun and assault weapon possesion—from National Rifle Association-directed attacks on Capitol Hill. Working with DC grassroots organizations, law enforcement, and elected officials, the VPC worked in coalition to defend the tough gun laws of our nation's capitol, including releasing a study showing the effectiveness of DC's laws and launching a web site to inform the press, policymakers, and DC residents of efforts to defend them. The VPC study revealed that according to the most recently available federal data, for the years 2000 through 2002 no child 16 years of age or younger was a victim of firearm suicide and no alternative means were employed by DC youth to take their own lives.
  
  
• In 2006, the VPC released American Roulette: Murder-Suicide in the United States. An update to the 2002 VPC study of the same name, the publication remains the largest survey of murder-suicide in the United States ever conducted. The study reveals that more than 10 murder-suicides occur in the United States each week and has been used by policymakers, professionals, and the news media across the nation.
  
  
• In 2006, as the result of the findings of the 2004 Violence Policy Center study Vest Buster: The .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum—The Gun Industry's Latest Challenge to Law Enforcement Body Armor, which warned of the threat posed to law enforcement officers by the .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum handgun round, a new bullet-resistant vest capable of defeating the .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum round was developed to protect law enforcement. The vest has been certified by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) as meeting its Level IIIA soft body armor standards.

All contents © 2006 Violence Policy Center