California Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Statements on Police Shooting in Los Angeles

The California chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, released the following statements after a Los Angeles police officer fired a non-lethal round at a protestor at a transgender rights protest outside of Koreatown’s Wi Spa Saturday afternoon. Protesters were peacefully gathering when the woman was shot in the stomach at close range. The protest was also met with armed counter protestors and alleged members of the Proud Boys. 

“The right to protest openly, peacefully, and without fear of violence is one of our most sacred rights,” said Ellen Ginsberg, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We’ll keep fighting to ensure that Californians are safe from gun violence and police violence — especially when they are exercising their First Amendment right.”  

This session, California Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers are advocating for a swath of police reform bills such as 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, and AB 490, legislation to expand the current ban on chokeholds.  

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.  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.