Proposal would let a judge temporarily stop individuals with high risk of violence from purchasing or possessing firearms
Washington, DC—In advance of a hearing today on a California Assembly bill proposing a “Gun Violence Restraining Order” that would prevent individuals from purchasing or possessing guns when they are at elevated risk of harming themselves or others, Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, is available to discuss his organization’s support for the legislation.
CSGV has publicly commended California Assembly Member Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Assembly Member Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara) for introducing Assembly Bill 1014. “We applaud California Assembly Member Nancy Skinner and Assembly Member Das Williams for continuing to push for legislation to make sure that the families of individuals who are a potential danger to themselves or others have the tools they need to protect their loved ones,” said Horwitz. “When someone is in crisis, family members closest to that individual understand the situation the best, and we need to do all we can to ensure they have the tools they need to help their loved ones.”
The legislation proposed by Assemblywoman Skinner would enable those closest to a person who is at an elevated risk of harm to self or others to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from that person. After a short period of time, the Gun Violence Restraining Order would be reassessed to determine if the individual still poses a serious risk of violence. A one-pager detailing a GVRO is also available.
In addition to Horwitz, Christian Heyne, legislative director of Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, is available to comment on the legislation. He will be present at today’s hearing, which will take place in the California Senate Public Safety Committee at 9:00 a.m. PST today, Tuesday, June 24, 2014, in Room 3191 of the State Capitol Building in Sacramento.
The Gun Violence Restraining Order is a policy proposal that was recently identified by the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy, a group of mental health and public health experts, as a promising new strategy to prevent gun violence. The Consortium was organized by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, CSGV’s 501(c)(3) affiliate, and issued reports late last year to state and federal policy makers making the case for strengthening gun purchase and possession laws to restrict potentially dangerous individuals from having guns.
The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (Ed Fund) is the 501(c)(3) sister organization of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. The organization has engaged in a number of successful public education campaigns over the years aimed at reducing gun death and injury. The Ed Fund can be found on Twitter.
