Mission

Guns killed more than 44,000 Americans in 2024. Since 1988, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) has worked to stop gun violence through research, education, advocacy, and collaboration. Approaching gun violence as a public health issue, as opposed to solely a crime issue, we inform the press and public about the impact of gun violence on their daily lives, expose the profit-driven marketing and lobbying activities of the firearms industry and gun lobby, offer unique technical expertise to policymakers, organizations, and advocates on the federal, state, and local levels, and work for policy changes that save lives. The VPC firmly believes the answer to reducing gun violence lies in applying the decades-long lessons of public health injury prevention and consumer product safety regulation.