Isla Vista Murders Catalyst for New Gun Legislation

Sacramento, Calif.- The California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,  announced their support for a legislative concept aimed at preventing shootings like last weekend’s tragic Isla Vista rampage near the University of California at Santa Barbara that claimed the lives of six students. Legislation was introduced today by California State Assembly Members Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara).

The proposed legislation would create a Gun Violence Restraining Order, establishing a system that allows concerned family members, intimate partners or friends to notify law enforcement of someone who is demonstrating a propensity to commit violence toward themselves or others.

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“A Gun Violence Restraining Order would help families in crisis,” said Amanda Wilcox, legislative chair of the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign. “It would empower those in close contact with an individual who has an elevated risk of violence with the ability to prevent those individuals from obtaining guns, potentially saving many lives.”

Under current law, therapists can notify law enforcement when their client is at risk of committing a violent act allowing authorities to investigate the individual. Law enforcement can prevent the person from buying or owning firearms. The proposed legislation would grant this authority to concerned family members, friends and intimate partners, creating a mechanism to intervene and potentially prohibit the purchase of firearms and remove the firearms already in possession. Law enforcement would have the ability to investigate threats and ask a judge to grant an order prohibiting firearms purchase or possession.

“We lost our daughter, Laura, 13 years ago. We have worked on and supported the mechanisms in this legislation for many years. A Gun Violence Restraining Order could have saved Laura’s life, and quite possibly, the Isla Vista victims. We support this legislative concept whole-heartedly and thank Assembly Members Skinner and Williams for taking swift action to save lives,” added Wilcox.