Call for action comes two days after the 17th Anniversary of the Columbine school shooting
(SAN FRANCISCO) – Parents, educators, gun safety advocates, and a mass shooting survivor joined State Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) in urging passage of his bill to prevent gun tragedies at schools and workplaces. Ting’s AB 2607 passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee this week and awaits a vote of the Assembly.
“The shock of mass shootings has become routine, especially at schools and workplaces. We need this bill to stop the carnage and save innocent lives,” said Ting. “All of us should be able to send our kids off to school and make a living free from the fear of becoming a gun tragedy victim.”
"My desk was about 20 feet from the stairwell where people were murdered,” said Cathy Mulkey Meyer, parent and survivor of a 1993 mass shooting in San Francisco known as 101 California. “A swat team member was inside our office and had to barricade the doors using copiers, cords tied around door handles, and anything big enough to barricade the door. We were hunted. No one, especially an innocent child, should die like that or fear they will never see their loved ones again."
AB 2607 broadens who can request a gun violence restraining order (GVRO) with the court to include an employer, a coworker, a mental health worker, and an employee of a high school or university. Modeled after domestic violence retraining orders, the GVRO temporarily prohibits persons found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others from possessing or purchasing a gun or ammunition.
Only law enforcement and family members can currently pursue a gun violence restraining order, which is intended to prevent significant danger in the near future. It requires a hearing for judicial review of a written affidavit submitted by the family member seeking the GVRO that must outline clear and convincing evidence that the individual poses a danger to themselves or others by virtue of possessing guns and ammunition. This order lasts for up to one year unless renewed or revoked by a court. In situations with immediate and present danger, law enforcement is also able to obtain an emergency GVRO any time day or night and a warrant to seize guns and ammunition. A family member may also request a temporary order which operates like an emergency GVRO. Both expire after 21 days.
An individual subject to a GVRO may appeal the court to overturn it. Anyone who files a GVRO with false information or the intent to harass is guilty of a misdemeanor.
“Our priority is to provide a safe environment where all kids can learn,” said Thomas Graven, Executive Director of Pupil Services, San Francisco Unified School District. “Students in San Francisco have not suffered from a mass school shooting and we intend to keep it that way. This bill provides another way we can to help protect students and staff in our schools.”
"As many California Brady members have personally experienced, heightened anger or hate, despondence, substance abuse, or a mental or emotional crises combined with access to firearms can be a deadly combination,” said Emma Tao White, Vice President, San Francisco Chapter of the Brady Campaign. “The Gun Violence Restraining Order provides a way to prevent homicide, suicide, and mass shootings by removing firearms beforea tragedy occurs. AB 2607 advances the Brady Campaign’s core mission of reducing firearm injury and death by keeping firearms out of dangerous hands."
“Two years ago, the California Legislature enacted the GVRO law to provide Californians with an important preventative tool to reduce the risk of mass shootings and gun violence in our state,” said Ari Freilich, Staff Attorney, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “This law authorizes law enforcement and family or household members to petition a court to take preventive action when an individual exhibits serious warning signs of violence. Unfortunately, this valuable tool remains unavailable to other community members who may have unique personal knowledge of a person’s mental condition and threats to perpetrate violence. AB 2607 would help close this gap by empowering teachers, co-workers, and mental health professionals to “see something and say something” by filing a sworn petition to a judge when they observe serious threats of impending violence. The Law Center is proud to support this reasonable and targeted effort to proactively prevent mass shootings and violence before they occur.”
An FBI study of active shooter incidents between 2000-2013 found that 70 percent occurred at either a business or educational environment. Since 2013, according to Every Town for Gun Safety, there have been 175 school shootings across the United States. This translates into nearly one a week. In 2014, according to the most recent data from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 307 people were intentionally shot and killed at work. This exceeds the number of people killed at work by fires and explosions, getting caught in running equipment or machinery, or exposed to harmful substances.
Here is what other supporters of AB 2607 are saying.
“Gun violence continues to plague this country, and despite California’s laws being some of the toughest in the nation there remains much to do to fight the alarming number of gun related deaths that occur every year.”
-George Gascon, District Attorney, City and County of San Francisco
“Family members, co-workers, teachers, and mental health workers are the most likely to see early warning signs if someone is becoming a danger to themselves or others.”
-Margot Bennett, Executive Director, Women Against Gun Violence
“AB 2607 fills in the gaps, allowing the people who are closest to an individual seeing the warning signs first hand to step in and prevent a potential tragic situation. This raises a red flag for the individual to seek help and protects the family, community as well as the individual.”
-Toni Wellen, Chair, Coalition Against Gun Violence
Further information about AB 2607 is available at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.
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