On National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday a new campaign to make California schools and communities safer through a community campaign to promote Gun Violence Restraining Orders, also known as "red flag" laws.
"Gun violence is an epidemic - too many Americans are forced to live in fear because of inaction. In California, we are taking action with common sense gun safety measures that get guns out of our communities and keep people safe," Newsom said.
At a press conference, the governor stressed that red flag laws allow for the temporary removal of guns and ammunition from people who are at risk of harming themselves or others, as well as empower loved ones and law enforcement to intervene and temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing firearms.
California issued 3 thousand 7 gun violence restraining orders between 2016 and 2020.
In 2020, the state issued 1,284 restraining orders, 15 times more than the 85 issued in 2016.
This new $11 million, 18-month campaign, administered through the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, will focus on outreach and education about California's red flag laws for communities most at risk of gun violence, the official said.
The campaign to promote gun violence restraining orders includes:
- 5 million in grants to local community-based domestic violence groups for community outreach.
- 5 million for statewide outreach to communities most at risk of gun violence, including education, research and multilingual outreach efforts.
- 1 million for education and training of district attorneys and law enforcement groups.
UC Davis Health's Violence Prevention Research Program released a study last year highlighting support for Armed Violence Restraining Orders and the need to raise public awareness of the issue.
In addition, red flag laws have been shown to be effective in reducing gun violence and deaths, which could help reduce emergency situations.
"California has nation-leading gun safety laws," said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services. "Education and outreach on how to use red flag laws are critical to their success. This campaign will focus on educating families and law enforcement about the tools available to them to prevent gun violence."
Enacted in 2014 following the Isla Vista shooting, California's red flag law authorizes law enforcement officers and others to file petitions for a civil court order called a Gun Violence Restraining Order to temporarily suspend a person's access to firearms when they are determined to pose a significant risk to themselves or others by having lawful access to firearms or ammunition.
With the country still reeling from the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead last week, Newsom noted in a statement that California ranks No. 1 in safety.
He added that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the firearms death rate is 37 percent lower than the national average.
Thus, California's gun death rate was the 44th lowest in the country, at 8.5 gun deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 13.7 deaths per 100,000 nationally, 28.6 in Mississippi, 20.7 in Oklahoma, and 14.2 in Texas.
California's child firearm death rate is also lower than in other states, and is 58 percent lower than the national average.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California - PPIC, Californians are 25 percent less likely to die in a mass shooting. Between 2019 and 2021, the state's annual mass shooting homicide rate of 1.4 per 1 million people was lower than the national average of 1.9.
"America has a gun problem. Our country's addiction to guns and gun culture is killing our children, our teachers, our family and our friends. I want to thank President Biden for his strong commitment to get more guns off our streets and I join him in urging Congress to act," Newsom said in a statement issued this Thursday, June 2.
He added that, common sense gun laws work. "In California, we prove it every day. Our gun safety laws - banning assault weapons, universal background checks, red flag laws, age restrictions and waiting periods - have cut the rate of gun deaths in our state in half since the 1980s."
"California has spent decades testing and perfecting these policies. Now is the time for Congress to put the lives of our people first and pass tested and proven gun safety laws in California," he stressed.
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