Dear VPC Supporter,
Before the New Year, I’m sending one last message to ask for your help. In 2014, the Violence Policy Center will be moving full speed ahead as we educate the public about gun violence prevention and advocate for meaningful change. Before the year ends, please make a tax-deductible donation to the Violence Policy Center and join our efforts for a safer America. Here are just a few of the Violence Policy Center’s accomplishments in 2013 . . .
We helped Connecticut and New York State pass some of the nation’s strongest comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation following the tragedy in my hometown of Newtown, Connecticut. These new laws include effective universal background checks as well as bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
We released a groundbreaking study finding that guns are rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes — destroying the central NRA and gun industry argument that the more than 31,000 gun deaths that occur each year are somehow “balanced out” by self-defense shootings.
We helped diminish the power and influence of the NRA with new research showing how gun companies have given the organization tens of millions of dollars (including at least a million from the company that made the assault rifle used in Newtown). We are exposing the NRA as an organization working to increase gun industry profits at the expense of public safety.
We made headlines across the nation with our annual study for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which ranks states on the rate of women murdered by men. Our study prompted a widespread conversation about the links between guns and domestic homicide, and is now leading state lawmakers to consider legislation increasing penalties for domestic violence offenders.
These are just a few of the ways the Violence Policy Center has used its unique expertise to advocate for a safer America. In 2014, we will double our efforts as we advocate for new laws, expose the truth about the NRA, and educate the public about effective policies to prevent gun violence.
And if you have already made a contribution, thank you again for your support.
Sincerely,
Josh Sugarmann
Executive Director
The Violence Policy Center is a leading resource for new information measuring the devastating effects of gun violence in our nation, from state-by-state studies on gun death and injury to groundbreaking research on America’s gun industry and gun lobby. At the same time, the VPC works in support of effective gun violence prevention policies on the local, state, and federal levels that save lives and help protect communities.