The California chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statement applauding the Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees after passing SB 2, legislation to increase accountability and eliminate qualified immunity, SB 715, legislation to ensure independent investigations in police shootings when details are in dispute, AB 490, legislation to expand the current ban on chokeholds, and AB 1057, legislation to include ghost guns under extreme risk laws.
“It’s past time for our state to expand and change our policies to address police violence and the threat of ghost guns in California,” said Krystal LoPilato, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We applaud this step and look forward to advocating for these policies until they are signed on Governor Newsom’s desk.”
“Qualified immunity has been a barrier for accountability for too long in our state,” said Tristan Cotter, a volunteer with Students Demand Action in California. “Legislation to eliminate this archaic policy is the type of bold action we need to prevent police violence in our communities.”
The bills are part of a swath of bills that the California legislature is considering this session to prevent gun violence including comprehensive police reform. Ending police violence requires changes to longstanding systemic inequities, but state legislative action is an important step in addressing police violence in California. Data from Mapping Police Violence shows that between 2013 and 2020, over 1,300 people were killed by police in California, the majority with guns. Read more about police reform policies here.
Every year, over 3,000 Californians are shot and killed and over 6,800 are wounded. More information about gun violence in California is available here.
