Attorney General Bonta and Community Leaders Engage in a Roundtable Discussion Addressing Gun Violence in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES – As part of a statewide effort to address gun violence, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today was joined by local leaders for a roundtable discussion. The roundtable in Los Angeles is the second in a series of meetings led by Attorney General Bonta across the state to bring together leaders of community-based organizations to discuss best practices in addressing gun violence. The primary objective of the roundtables is to formulate effective approaches for addressing gun violence in communities, foster knowledge about accessible resources for the public, and enhance partnerships statewide to more effectively prevent shootings and interrupt cycles of trauma and violence in California. 

“Gun violence is an epidemic that pervades our society,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Just this year alone, we’ve already had 116 mass shootings and we’re only midway through April. This roundtable discussion is one of the many ways we are fighting this disease. Preventing gun violence must begin in our communities by strengthening relationships and fostering an environment of support and collaboration. I’m proud to stand with our local partners to identify best practices, foster community involvement, and work toward community-driven solutions to eliminate gun violence and protect survivors. As California Attorney General, I am doubling down on California’s gun safety efforts: I am defending our commonsense gun safety laws in court, cracking down on enforcing those laws, and working in collaboration with local community violence intervention and prevention experts to disrupt cycles of gun violence.” 

As we celebrate a downward trend in violence, we must remember that any lives lost by gun violence is too many—we aim for zero: zero homicides and zero gunshots,” said Ben “Taco” Owens of Detours Mentoring Group. “Looking forward, we must collectively continue advocating for more investment in community violence intervention.”

"As a survivor and long-time activist in this movement, I have learned that so many instances of gun violence are preventable - especially when it comes to gun suicides and unintentional shootings,” said Mia Livas Porter of Moms Demand Action. “Gun violence is a public health epidemic. And it is going to take every single one of us to address this uniquely American crisis - from parents asking about safe gun storage on playdates to our electeds and government agencies at every level using their platform to encourage gun safety. “

“The first of all civil rights is safety. And the first of all freedoms is freedom from violence,” said Connie Rice, Member of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and Co-crafter of LA’s Pioneering Violence Reduction Strategy. “The violence and gun reduction pioneers joining Attorney General Bonta today know that safety in high violence neighborhoods requires far more than handcuffs—it requires concerted community-government partnership and the resources to carry out all-hands-on- deck violence reduction strategies that lead to safer neighborhoods.” 

As part of the effort to advance justice for all Californians, California Attorney General Rob Bonta took quick action upon entering office to establish the Office of Community Awareness, Response, and Engagement (CARE) within the California Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2021. CARE works directly with community organizations, state and local elected officials, and members of the public to help ensure the inclusion of diverse perspectives in the state’s work. Specifically, CARE focuses on cultivating relationships with historically marginalized and underrepresented communities in line with DOJ’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of its work on behalf of the people of California, including in the fight for environmental, economic, and social justice.

In September of 2022, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the launch of the CA DOJ’s first-in-the-nation Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP), a unit dedicated to developing strategies and working with stakeholders statewide to address the gun violence epidemic. This innovative new office — the first Office of Gun Violence Prevention under the leadership of a state attorney general — provides centralized support from the DOJ for partners to implement strategic and innovative programs to reduce gun violence.  The OGVP’s mission is to reduce and prevent gun violence, firearm injury, and related trauma. The OGVP supports DOJ’s ongoing gun violence reduction efforts led by the Bureau of Firearms and DOJ's litigation sections — including the Department’s seizure of firearms from dangerous individuals using the  Armed and Prohibited Persons System, (APPS), prosecution of firearms trafficking cases, and defense of California’s commonsense gun laws. The OGVP will examine a broad range of factors — from firearm availability to effective resources for crisis prevention — to reduce the harm caused by firearms and make Californians healthier and safer. The OGVP aims to reduce gun violence by promoting research and data collection, increasing awareness about effective legal and policy strategies, and collaborating with federal, state, and local partners.

In August 2023, the office released its first data report to provide a robust review of gun violence data in California and throughout the U.S. to help guide policy and strategy discussions related to reducing gun violence. The report highlighted California’s successes in preventing gun violence, and it shined a light on successful strategies and further areas for improvements. For example, over the last 30 years, California has reduced its gun violence rate compared to the rest of the United States; once 50% above average, California’s firearm homicide rate is now 33% below the rest of the United States. Additionally, if the firearm mortality rate in the rest of the United States had matched California’s between 2013-2022, there would have been nearly 140,000 fewer firearm-related deaths nationwide in that decade alone. The report also emphasized the importance of community-based efforts to protect survivors and interrupt cycles of violence: people who had survived a gun assault injury in California were over 60 times more likely to be killed in another shooting compared to the statewide average. 

In November 2023, the office released its second data report that provided an in-depth look at the ties between domestic violence and firearms. The report examined data illustrating the impact of firearms-related domestic violence, including both family and intimate partner-related violence with firearms. The report documented California’s long-term progress in reducing domestic violence involving firearms and recent challenges arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the report highlighted California’s efforts to empower and protect survivors by providing a range of support services, offering crisis intervention and safety planning options, providing for Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVROs), and enforcing laws to protect against gun violence.

Attorney General Bonta stands with partners throughout the state to continue tackling the issue of gun violence strategically and aggressively by:

• Defending California’s commonsense gun laws, including its assault weapons ban and restrictions on large-capacity magazines.
• Educating the public on gun violence prevention through the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, including through data reports issued by the office to provide a robust review of gun violence and gun-related domestic violence data in California and throughout the U.S. and to help guide policy and strategy discussions related to reducing gun violence.
•  Advocating for gun laws including by sponsoring Assembly Bill 1594 to increase accountability for the firearm industry and supporting The Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act (AB 28) to make long-term investments in community-based gun violence prevention programs, school mental health, gun crime investigations, and victim services.
• Working to strengthen federal laws to protect the public from ghost guns.
• Seizing guns from prohibited persons in the  Armed and Prohibited Persons System,  and through multiagency sweeps in the Bay Area and Los Angeles County, conducting operations targeting individuals attempting to illegally purchase guns, and collaborating with local law enforcement partners.
• Ending the sale of illegal firearms through litigation against ghost gun retailers, and by putting a stop to the sale of illegal assault weapons in Orange County.
• Calling for an investigation into an ammunition plant that sells military grade ammunition to the public that is subsidized by the American taxpayer.