Email blast from the Violence Policy Center re: the Isla Vista shooting:
Dear VPC Supporter,
Like you, I was deeply saddened and outraged when I heard about yet another mass shooting in America, this time in Isla Vista, California. Since last Friday, there has rightfully been a great deal of public attention and conversation about the shooter’s violent attitudes toward women. But another essential aspect of this tragedy cannot be forgotten: This shooting was aided and abetted by an unregulated gun industry that is selling increasingly lethal weapons in order to make a profit . . .
As we explain in a backgrounder we released this week, semiautomatic weapons, like the Glock and Sig Sauer pistols owned by the killer, are the types of firearms most commonly used in mass shootings. Originally designed for the military, semiauto pistols were not aggressively marketed in the United States until the 1980s, when the most popular handgun at the time was the six-shot revolver. In response to declining handgun sales, the gun industry touted the increased firepower and capacity of these guns, using their military and law enforcement pedigree as a key selling point. Elliot Rodger, the Isla Vista shooter, called the Glock he purchased “an efficient and highly accurate weapon.”
As gun companies continue to put increasingly lethal products on the market, today they also give tens of millions of dollars to the NRA to block any regulation of the gun industry or its products. Glock and Sig Sauer are both official NRA “Corporate Partners” that have donated to the organization. At the NRA annual meeting this year, the NRA displayed a “big check” from Glock for $50,000 — just the latest gift from the gunmaker to the NRA.
If reading all this makes you angry, then you’re not alone. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. And our leaders should not wait for the next mass shooting before they answer the call for change.
We hope you will take a look at our backgrounder on the Isla Vista shooting. Please share these resources with your contacts and spread the word to anyone who can help make a difference. And thank you, as always, for your support as we work to end America’s gun violence epidemic. Sincerely,
Josh Sugarmann
Executive Director