Attorney General Bonta Issues Statement on National Gun Violence Awareness Day

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued the following statement on National Gun Violence Awareness Day:

“My heart is heavy this National Gun Violence Awareness Day. The spate of recent shootings has affirmed that America’s sick disease has left no place sacred. Children are killed in our schools. Worshippers are shot dead in churches, mosques, and synagogues. Our loved ones are gunned down in grocery stores, hospitals, and even just yesterday, at a funeral.

When will it be enough, America?

There appears to be no end to this pervasive sickness — no act of mass murder large enough to move the needle. Every day that entrenched politicians fail to act, an average of 110 more loved ones are shot and killed.

We must do better. 

On this National Gun Violence Awareness Day, I refuse to accept our current norm and half-hearted solutions. Lockdown drills, ‘door hardening,’ and metal detectors that make our schools and sanctuaries look more like prisons are not the answer. 

The answer is simple: broadly supported commonsense gun safety laws. Laws that get weapons of war off our streets. Laws that ensure fewer guns are in the hands of young people. Laws that regulate ghost gun kits and hold accountable those who manufacture and sell them illegally. Laws that require us to share data and develop solutions, so that we can truly prevent tragedies like those in Uvalde, Buffalo, Tulsa, Laguna Woods, and countless other places.

This moment of crisis demands more than thoughts and prayers. We need action. That is why as California Attorney General, I am doubling down on California’s gun safety efforts. I am defending our common sense gun safety laws in court. I am sponsoring new legislation to hold the firearm industry accountable. I am cracking down on the surge of untraceable ghost guns. And I am proud to lead a team of special agents that remove firearms from the hands of dangerous individuals.

We can prevent gun violence.  America can prevent gun violence. The data proves it. On this National Gun Violence Awareness Day, there is no excuse to let this preventable violence continue.”

Gun violence remains a growing threat to public safety. Attorney General Bonta is addressing this issue strategically and aggressively by:

• Advocating for commonsense gun laws including by sponsoring Assembly Bill 1594 to increase accountability for the firearm industry, working to strengthen federal laws to protect the public from ghost guns, and successfully defending California’s laws to prevent gun violence;

• 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; and

• Improving transparency by expanding gun violence-related data the California Department of Justice releases to researchers.