Anti-gun California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced this week the launch of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention within the state Department of Justice, hailed as a “first-in-the-nation” effort “dedicated to developing strategies and working with stakeholders statewide to address the gun violence epidemic.”
There were several endorsements, but much like an effort in Michigan where a county prosecutor has established a “commission” on “gun violence,” there was no participation by anyone in the firearms community.
According to KTVU News, “The new office will serve as a hub between federal, state and local partners that will promote research and data collection, and increase awareness about effective legal and policy strategies. It also aims to expand efforts to reduce gun violence from crisis prevention to firearm availability.”
In his announcement, Bonta said a nationwide search is currently underway to recruit a director for this new bureaucracy. In his prepared statement, Bonta said he will “continue tackling the issue of gun violence…by:
- Seizing guns from prohibited persons identified in the “Armed and Prohibited Persons System,” and using multiagency sweeps in the Bay Area and Los Angeles County, focusing on people trying to illegally purchase firearms;
- Stopping the sale of illegal firearms through litigation against so-called “ghost gun retailers,” and by stopping the sale of so-called “assault weapons” firearms in Orange County;
- “Advocating for commonsense gun laws” including by sponsoring Assembly Bill 1594 and by working to strengthen federal laws.
KCRA News reported the U.S. averages more than 110 gun-related fatalities every year, resulting in an annual total nationwide of approximately 41,000 deaths, quoting data from CalDOJ.
Bonta’s press release said the Golden State “saw a 37% lower gun death rate than the national average” last year.” However, KCRA News reported Aug. 25 the state saw an increase in murders last year “amid rising frustration as the state’s top Democrats are seeking to keep their jobs in upcoming elections.”
The state Department of Justice released its annual crime reports Thursday, showing upticks in violent crime and property crime rates in 2021 even as the total arrest rate decreased.
Bonta’s office, quoting data from the CDC, said California’s gun death rate was the 44th lowest in the nation, while Fox News reported 2,361 homicides in the state last year, surpassing 2020′s figure by more than 150 deaths.
