Josh Sugarmann
Encyclopedia
Josh Sugarmann is the executive director and founder of the Violence Policy Center
(VPC). Prior to founding the VPC, Sugarmann was a press officer in the national office of Amnesty International USA and was the communications director for the National Coalition to Ban Handguns.
He is known for taking the position that gun violence should be approached as a broadbased public health issue as opposed to solely a crime issue and that firearms should be held to the same health and safety standards as other consumer products. This is detailed in the 1994 publication Cease Fire: A Comprehensive Strategy to Reduce Firearms Violence, which he co-authored. Noting that only two consumer products sold in America are not regulated for health and safety--guns and tobacco--he argues that firearms should be regulated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
.
Sugarmann writes frequently on gun violence issues, including two books. The first, National Rifle Association: Money, Firepower & Fear, an expose of the National Rifle Association
, was published in 1992 by National Press Books. The second, Every Handgun is Aimed at You: The Case for Banning Handguns, was published in 2000 by The New Press and details the arguments in support of banning private handgun possession in the United States.
Some credit Sugarmann for coining the term "assault weapon
", which is derived from the designation Sturmgewehr 44
(literally meaning "storm rifle" but most often translated as "assault rifle
"), a style of rifle conceptualized in Nazi Germany
during World War II
. Sugarmann uses the term because he argues that a semi-automatic rifle
is capable of rapid fire that makes it almost as lethal as a fully automatic firearm
such as assault rifles. The impression that Sugarmann originated the term may stem from a 1988 study he authored, Assault Weapons and Accessories in America, which was the first study to look at semiautomatic weapons the VPC deemed "assault weapons". However, variations on the term were in use in the gun press before Sugarmann's 1988 study.
In spite of his anti-gun activism, Josh Sugarmann is a licensed firearm dealer and current holder of a Federal Firearms License
(License Number: 1-54-XXX-XX-XX-00725; Expires: 03/01/2011) which is registered at the Violence Policy Center headquarters in Washington D.C. (cf. ATF
's FFLeZCheck web site).
-Josh Sugarmann, "Schoolgirls Executed In Their Own Classroom: America Shrugs,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sugarmann/schoolgirls-executed-in-t_b_30965.html" October, 2006
"Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons."
-Josh Sugarmann, Assault Weapons and Accessories in America, 1988
"One tenet of the National Rifle Association's faith has always been that handgun controls do little to stop criminals from obtaining handguns. For once, the NRA is right and America's leading handgun control organization is wrong. Criminals don't buy guns in gun stores. That's why they're criminals. But it isn't criminals who are killing most of the 20,000 to 22,000 people who die from handguns each year. We are."
-Josh Sugarmann, "The NRA is Right: But We Still Need to Ban Handguns," The Washington Monthly, June 1987. (link to article)
Violence Policy Center
The Violence Policy Center is a national 501 organization working to prohibit gun ownership in the United States, especially in relation to gun politics...
(VPC). Prior to founding the VPC, Sugarmann was a press officer in the national office of Amnesty International USA and was the communications director for the National Coalition to Ban Handguns.
He is known for taking the position that gun violence should be approached as a broadbased public health issue as opposed to solely a crime issue and that firearms should be held to the same health and safety standards as other consumer products. This is detailed in the 1994 publication Cease Fire: A Comprehensive Strategy to Reduce Firearms Violence, which he co-authored. Noting that only two consumer products sold in America are not regulated for health and safety--guns and tobacco--he argues that firearms should be regulated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
.
Sugarmann writes frequently on gun violence issues, including two books. The first, National Rifle Association: Money, Firepower & Fear, an expose of the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, was published in 1992 by National Press Books. The second, Every Handgun is Aimed at You: The Case for Banning Handguns, was published in 2000 by The New Press and details the arguments in support of banning private handgun possession in the United States.
Some credit Sugarmann for coining the term "assault weapon
Assault weapon
Assault weapon is a non-technical term referring to any of a broad category of firearms with certain features, including some semiautomatic rifles, some pistols, and some shotguns. There are a variety of different statutory definitions of assault weapons in local, state, and federal laws in the...
", which is derived from the designation Sturmgewehr 44
Sturmgewehr 44
The StG 44 was an assault rifle developed in Nazi Germany during World War II and was the first of its kind to see major deployment, considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle...
(literally meaning "storm rifle" but most often translated as "assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
"), a style of rifle conceptualized in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Sugarmann uses the term because he argues that a semi-automatic rifle
Semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...
is capable of rapid fire that makes it almost as lethal as a fully automatic firearm
Automatic firearm
An automatic firearm is a firearm that loads another round mechanically after the first round has been fired.The term can be used to refer to semi-automatic firearms, which fire one shot per single pull of the trigger , or fully automatic firearms, which will continue to load and fire ammunition...
such as assault rifles. The impression that Sugarmann originated the term may stem from a 1988 study he authored, Assault Weapons and Accessories in America, which was the first study to look at semiautomatic weapons the VPC deemed "assault weapons". However, variations on the term were in use in the gun press before Sugarmann's 1988 study.
In spite of his anti-gun activism, Josh Sugarmann is a licensed firearm dealer and current holder of a Federal Firearms License
Federal Firearms License
A Federal Firearms License is a license that enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture of firearms and ammunition or the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms...
(License Number: 1-54-XXX-XX-XX-00725; Expires: 03/01/2011) which is registered at the Violence Policy Center headquarters in Washington D.C. (cf. ATF
ATF
- Places :* ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code of French Southern and Antarctic Lands* Chachoan Airport , Ambato, Ecuador- Organizations :...
's FFLeZCheck web site).
Quotes
"On television news, anchors refer to the school shootings as “unavoidable,” as if such mass shootings are the bastard children born of hurricanes and snowstorms."-Josh Sugarmann, "Schoolgirls Executed In Their Own Classroom: America Shrugs,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sugarmann/schoolgirls-executed-in-t_b_30965.html" October, 2006
"Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons."
-Josh Sugarmann, Assault Weapons and Accessories in America, 1988
"One tenet of the National Rifle Association's faith has always been that handgun controls do little to stop criminals from obtaining handguns. For once, the NRA is right and America's leading handgun control organization is wrong. Criminals don't buy guns in gun stores. That's why they're criminals. But it isn't criminals who are killing most of the 20,000 to 22,000 people who die from handguns each year. We are."
-Josh Sugarmann, "The NRA is Right: But We Still Need to Ban Handguns," The Washington Monthly, June 1987. (link to article)