What is PETA’s stance on gun control?

PETA opposes all violence, whether the victims are animals or humans.

We inform people about hunting, which is nothing more than a violent form of entertainment that almost no one needs for survival. Hunting disrupts migration and hibernation, tears families apart, and causes animals immense suffering. Killing deer to limit their numbers is rarely effective, since deer reproduce based on habitat availability and food supply. After a hunt, the resultant spike in both encourages increased breeding. And trophy hunters, feeding their urge to kill, are driving threatened and endangered species to extinction.

In solidarity with animal and human victims of gun violence, PETA has joined March for Our Lives events across the country and publicly supported the call for a ban on AR-15 semiautomatic weapons. We work to inform the public about the irrefutable link between cruelty to animals and violence against humans and push for strong penalties, psychological evaluations, and counseling for animal abusers. Psychological experts and law-enforcement officials have found that nearly all school shooters started hunting when they were young, including Nikolas Cruz, accused of killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. And the FBI has found that virtually all serial killers have had a history of cruelty to animals, including “Boston Strangler” Albert DeSalvo, Jeffrey Dahmer, “BTK Killer” Dennis Rader, and convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo.

While PETA doesn’t take a position on gun ownership, we will always work to create a kinder society, including by supporting initiatives to end all forms of violence.