California announces new gun violence restraining orders

SACRAMENTO – The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) announced $11 million in new community partnerships to expand outreach and education on the use of Gun Violence Restraining Orders – or “red flag laws” – to families, schools and communities most at risk for gun violence.

Announced earlier this month by Governor Gavin Newsom, this 18-month campaign includes the gun violence prevention community movement:

● $5 million to the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence in grants to local community-based domestic violence groups for community outreach.

● $5 million to Hope and Heal Fund for statewide outreach to communities most at risk of gun violence including education efforts, research and multilingual outreach.

● $1 million to the San Diego City Attorney’s Office for education and training for city attorney offices and law enforcement groups.

The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, Hope and Heal Fund and the San Diego City Attorney’s Office will work in tandem to ensure loved ones, teachers, or law enforcement know how to intervene and prevent someone in crisis from accessing firearms.

From 2016 to 2020, California courts issued 3,007 Gun Violence Restraining Orders. In 2020, the state issued 1,284 GVROs, 15-times greater than the 85 issued in 2016. That same year, California’s firearm death rate was 8.5 per 100,000 — the seventh-lowest in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.