SACRAMENTO, CA — Assembly Democratic Caucus Chair Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) has announced a bill to ensure civil court judges factor in specific types of threats of violence when deciding whether to issue a gun violence restraining order (GVRO). The Hate-Based Gun Violence Prevention Act, sponsored by Everytown for Gun Safety and the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, updates and refines California's nation-leading GVRO law to draw the civil court's attention to a broader set of risk factors in a court's analysis of whether temporary access to firearms should be restricted. This includes threats of violence made against individuals or groups protected by hate crime laws and threats of violence to advance political objectives.
"Hate crimes in California have risen by almost 150% over the last ten years," said Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur. "During this period, we've also witnessed significant increases in extremist activity and hate crime incidents motivated by antisemitism, prejudice based on sexual orientation, and racial bias. California has adopted strong laws to prevent mass shootings and other acts of violence, but those tools need to be clarified and codified so that all California courts are empowered to consider threats of hate-based or political violence when temporarily restricting access to guns, preventing needless deaths and potentially saving innocent lives."
Under current law, GVROs may be used to disrupt access to firearms for individuals in crisis, but can also be used when someone gives warning signs that they intend to imminently carry out violence in the name of extremist ideology and/or fueled by hate-driven motivations. GVROs have already been used to prevent hate crimes in cities like San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento based on a general assessment of danger to people in the community. AB 2917 clarifies that these important factors are a permitted basis to remove firearms before clear threats turn into tragedy.
"AB 2917 builds on California's legacy of fighting gun violence – by ensuring courts are considering threats of hate-based violence and armed extremism when deciding whether to issue a GVRO, our communities will be safer," said Jessica Blitchok, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action. "We thank Assemblymember Zbur for his continued commitment to the fight against gun violence, and we look forward to working with lawmakers to send this bill to Governor Newsom's desk."
"Gun violence has plagued our communities far too long and any opportunity to improve the GVRO process only makes our communities safer," said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, whose office launched a GVRO program and is co-sponsoring AB 2917. "Unfortunately, in recent years, we have seen a disturbing rise in hate-fueled violence across the county. This commonsense bill updates existing law to allow for the consideration of threats of hate violence in GVRO cases and ensure that city and county attorney offices have access to criminal history information when seeking GVROs."
Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur serves as the Democratic Caucus Chair for the California State Assembly and represents the 51st Assembly District, which includes Universal City, Hollywood, Hancock Park, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and other portions of Los Angeles.
CONTACT: Vienna Montague, (916) 319-2051, Vienna.Montague@asm.ca.gov