We derive inner dark matter halo density profiles for a sample of 165 low-mass galaxies using rotation curves obtained from high-quality, long-slit optical spectra assuming minimal disks and spherical symmetry. For $��(r) \sim r^{-��}$ near the galaxy center we measure median inner slopes ranging from $��_m = 0.22 \pm 0.08$ to $0.28 \pm 0.06$ for various subsamples of the data. This is similar to values found by other authors, and in stark contrast to the intrinsic cusps ($��_{int}\sim1$) predicted by simulations of halo assembly in cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies. To elucidate the relationship between $��_m$ and $��_{int}$ in our data, we simulate long-slit observations of model galaxies with halo shapes broadly consistent with the CDM paradigm. Simulations with $��_{int}=1/2$ and 1 recover both the observed distribution of $��_m$ and correlations between $��_m$ and primary observational parameters such as distance and disk inclination, whereas those with $��_{int}=5/4$ are marginally consistent with the data. Conversely, the hypothesis that low-mass galaxies have $��_{int}=3/2$ is rejected. While the simulations do not imply that the data favor intrinsic cusps over cores, they demonstrate that the discrepancy between $��_m$ and $��_{int}\sim1$ for our sample does not necessarily imply a genuine conflict between our results and CDM predictions: rather, the apparent cusp/core problem may be reconciled by considering the impact of observing and data processing techniques on rotation curves derived from long-slit spectra.

17 pages, 14 figures; uses emulateapj. Accepted for publication in AJ. Minor changes made to match AJ proofs