About the Violence Policy Center
The Violence Policy Center (VPC) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt national educational organization that works to stop gun death and injury through research, education, advocacy, and collaboration. 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.”
Black Americans Accounted for More Than Half of U.S. Homicide Victims Despite Comprising Only 13.7% of Population, New Study Finds
New Violence Policy Center study presents latest data on Black homicide victimization in states and across the nation and finds that more than 84 percent of Black homicide victims were killed by guns.
As Supreme Court Rolls Back Restrictions on Gun Carrying, VPC’s Concealed Carry Killers Details Lethal Violence by Permit Holders
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a Hawaii law that restricted where people could carry guns on private property open to the public. VPC research shows that since 2007, concealed handgun permit holders are responsible for at least 3,345 deaths not involving self-defense.
New Report Finds Black Illinoisans 26 Times More Likely to Die by Gun Homicide Than White Residents
Every year, thousands of Illinois families lose someone to gun violence. A new report by the VPC and One Aim Illinois shows that gun violence doesn’t affect every Illinois community equally.
New Violence Policy Center Study Reveals Hidden Gun Manufacturers Across Pennsylvania
Hundreds of Pennsylvania residents possess a federal license to manufacture firearms, yet relatively few actually produce any guns according to Pennsylvania’s Hidden Gun Manufacturers, a new study from the Violence Policy Center (VPC) as part of its ongoing Campaign for Gun Industry Accountability.
Most Murder-Suicides Involve Guns, Are Committed by Men, and Target Intimate Partners, New VPC Study Shows
More than 1,000 people died in murder-suicides in America in 2025, 92 percent of the killers were male, 87 percent of the killers used a gun, and 65 percent involved an intimate partner according to the ninth edition of the VPC study “American Roulette: Murder-Suicide in the United States.”
Guns are the only consumer product manufactured in the United States that are not subject to federal health and safety regulation. This unique exemption has allowed the firearms industry to innovate for lethality rather than safety. We deserve, and demand, gun industry accountability.