Josh Sugarmann is the executive director of the Violence Policy Center.

He is known for taking the position that guns should be regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He also takes the position that all handguns should be banned is his book Every Handgun is Aimed at You

He is credited with being the person who first coined the term "assault weapon", which is derived from the designation Sturmgewehr 44 (Storm Rifle or alternately assault rifle) which was a German rifle made in World War II.

Quotes

"Assault weapons... 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."

-Josh Sugarmann, "Assault Weapons: Analysis, New Research and Legislation", March 1989

"The NRA is right...handgun controls do little to stop criminals from obtaining handguns."

-Josh Sugarmann, former communications director for the Coalition Against Gun Violence

External links

• A Collection of Josh Sugarmann's blogs on the Huffington Post

• The Price of Freedom: More Bodies

• The Brady Bill won't break the sick hold guns have on America. It's time for tougher measures.

• National Rifle Association

• Guncite.com

Gun politics