(SACRAMENTO, CA) – California could have the strongest gun safety law of its kind if Governor Jerry Brown signs a bill authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) to prevent gun tragedies at schools and workplaces, locations where most mass shooting tragedies occur.
Assembly Bill (AB) 2607 passed the State Senate 21-14 today, following a 41-37 vote in the State Assembly earlier this month. It now heads to Governor Jerry Brown for his signature or veto. Today’s action occurred among many other votes on gun safety legislation.
“Action on gun safety is a fitting tribute to the victims of Orlando,” said Ting. “Critics of gun safety say it is not guns but people who kill. We can prevent gun violence by temporarily taking guns from those deemed an immediate danger by a court. We need this bill signed into law so that we have a tool to protect ourselves and loved ones.”
Parents, educators, gun safety advocates, and the LGBT community support AB 2607. It 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 a court deems a danger to themselves or others from possessing or purchasing a gun or ammunition.
The GVRO was created to prevent gun violence after college students were murdered in 2014 by a fellow student who took his own life, near Santa Barbara. Currently, only law enforcement and family members can pursue a GVRO, 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.
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 at 188 school shootings across the United States. 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 supporters of AB 2607 are saying.
"My desk was about 20 feet from the stairwell where people were murdered. 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."
-Cathy Mulkey Meyer, parent and survivor of a 1993 mass shooting in San Francisco known as 101 California
“Our priority is to provide a safe environment where all kids can learn. 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.”
-Thomas Graven, Executive Director of Pupil Services, San Francisco Unified School District
“This proposal will help our school communities be safe spaces for educators, parents, and students. Strict legislation is needed to control guns and other weapons.”
-Seth Bramble, Legislative Advocate, California Teachers Association
“Family members, co-workers, employers, teachers and mental health workers are the most likely to see early warning signs if someone is becoming a danger to themselves or others. Adding them to the list of who can pursue a GVRO will help prevent gun violence from occurring.”
-Shereen Walter, Community Concerns Advocate, California State PTA
"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. “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."
- Emma Tao White, Vice President, San Francisco Chapter of the Brady Campaign
“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. 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.”
-Ari Freilich, Staff Attorney, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
“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 this legislation is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov.