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Beyer Responds to ‘Virginia Under the Gun’

Washington, October 27, 2015 | Thomas Scanlon (202 225 4376)
The Center for American Progress (CAP) released a new report this morning, Virginia Under the Gun, detailing four aspects of gun violence in Virginia that stand out above the national average.

The Center for American Progress (CAP) released a new report this morning, Virginia Under the Gun, detailing four aspects of gun violence in Virginia that stand out above the national average.

“I wish I could say these sobering facts in CAP’s report surprise me, but they do not,” said Rep. Beyer.  “Our leaders in Richmond continue to block measures meant to protect Virginians from gun violence and keep our families safe.  Elected officials in Washington are no better.”

Virginia Under the Gun reports that:

Virginia is one of 17 states where more people are killed annually by gunfire than in car accidents.

  • Virginia ranks third among the states for the highest number of guns exported out of state and used in crime, behind only Georgia and Texas.
  • Women are killed with guns by intimate partners at a rate that is 21 percent higher than the national average.
  • Virginia ranks fourth among the states for highest number of individuals killed in mass shootings: 1 in 20 victims of fatal mass shootings in the United States from 2006 to 2015 were killed in Virginia.

“Gun violence is not an unsolvable problem.  This crisis has gone on for far too long, at the cost of far too many lives, for us to do nothing.  It is time for Washington and Richmond to wake up and begin the process to start protecting American families,” Beyer added.

The CAP report can be found here.