Free Republic

The rabidly anti-gun Violence Policy Center (VPC), which sometimes criticizes the Brady Campaign for not being anti-gun enough, has released another of it's "studies." This one covers familiar territory for the VPC, being one of many of its calls for a federal ban of so-called "assault weapons"--defined vastly more expansively than the 1994 ban. Before we get to the study itself, though, let's take just a second for background. The VPC has for decades been one of the leading cheerleaders for bans of what are, basically, semi-automatic rifles. Back in 1988, their executive director Josh Sugarmann was surprisingly candid about...

Earlier in July, the Violence Policy Center’s Josh Sugarmann – writing on the Huffington Post website – made what had to be one of the more bone-headed attempts in recent memory to drive a wedge between people in the firearms community when he critiqued remarks written by Jan Libourel, editor of Gun World magazine. Libourel is an extraordinarily bright guy, well-read in every sense, and – as is common among gun writers – unabashedly opinionated. As a recognized firearms authority, he’s supposed to be opinionated. That’s his job, and he is very good at it. Gun owners enjoy those opinions,...

I wouldn't have believed it. In fact, I didn't believe it. So, I went to the ATF myself to check it out. It's true, Josh Sugarmann, Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center, formerly with the National Center to Ban Handguns, holds a federal license for gun dealing. I saw this first on Dave Hardy's site, Arms & The Law, which is always well worth reading. While I trust Dave implicitly, Dave didn't list a source and I didn't want to find myself chasing an Internet legend. So, off to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms did I go....

Did you know that Josh Sugarmann, of the Violence Policy Center, has a Federal Firearms License? And that the business address is that of The Violence Policy Center? You do now. Also, given the ATF’s recent crack down on FFLs, I wonder when the VPC’s last inspection was? And how many transfers they’ve done. If none, then that could mean they’re not a business and, per ATF, that is bad. If they have, they’re hypocrites. Said FFL exempts them from the DC handgun ban, as well.

To Violence Policy Center Action Network Members: ALITO NEWS-- As you know, in 1996 Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito issued a minority opinion arguing for repeal of the 1986 federal ban on the transfer and possession of new machine guns by civilians. As part of its public education efforts, this week the Violence Policy Center released a new, short, web-based video illustrating the firepower of machine guns. You can view the video at http://www.vpc.org/alito-video.htm. Please forward this e-mail to as many people as you can to show them the devastating effects of these banned guns. Please call your Senators at...

Violence Policy Center Launches Web Site to Aid Citywide Effort to Stop Congressional Repeal of DC Handgun Ban Web Site Asks “If The U.S. Capitol Can be Handgun Free, Why Can’t DC?” Washington, DC--The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today launched a new web site to aid citywide efforts to stop Congressional repeal of the Washington, DC, handgun ban and other District gun laws. The web site–http://www.handgunfreedc.org–contains background information on efforts to repeal the District’s landmark law, information on the ban’s effectiveness, and a downloadable placard to be displayed in the windows of homes and businesses that reads, ”Keep the DC...

The price of freedom': More bodies The harsh reality is that too many Americans love their guns more than they love their children JOSH SUGARMANN In just 10 days last month, two mass murder-suicides -- one ending in a Minnesota high school, the other taking place during a religious service in a Wisconsin hotel -- left a combined toll of 18 dead and more than 10 injured. As Americans go through the familiar ritual of asking how this could happen, the National Rifle Association has a stark answer articulated by former head Harlon Carter more than 20 years ago. America's...

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided there’s a weapon that’s too dangerous to be in the hands of private citizens. This past week, a new law went into effect in California banning that weapon. It’s the .50-caliber rifle, the Rolls Royce of sniper rifles. It’s a big gun, a favorite of armies around the world, and it’s still available in 49 states in this country to anyone over 18 with a clean record. It is, without a doubt, the most powerful weapon you can buy. And, as Correspondent Ed Bradley reports, it's powerful enough to kill a man or pierce armor...

©2002 Law.comPage printed from: http://www.law.com Back to Article How the Gun Debate Died Jim OliphantLegal Times10-22-2002 As the serial sniper continued last week to slice a bloody swath along the rim of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Josh Sugarmann shared the same sense of horror and sadness familiar to anyone shocked by the slayings. But it was tinged with something else: a feeling of profound disappointment, of a moment surrendered in time. "The history of gun control is a series of lost opportunities," laments Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, a Washington-based firearms policy group. The Violence...

VPC Launches New Web Site, www.banhandgunsnow.org, in Conjunction With Release of Paperback Edition of Latest Book, Every Handgun Is Aimed at You: The Case for Banning Handguns WASHINGTON, DC—In conjunction with release of the paperback edition of its most recent book, Every Handgun is Aimed at You: The Case for Banning Handguns (The New Press, 2001), the Violence Policy Center (VPC) today launched a new citizen-action web site, www.banhandgunsnow.org. Each year handguns claim more than 20,000 American lives in suicides, homicides, and unintentional shootings. The unique qualities that make handguns ideally suited for violent death and injury—concealability coupled with lethality—are...