KEEPING GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION 

ON THE FRONT BURNER

WHAT YOU CAN DO

STORE guns safely:  unloaded and locked, with the ammunition locked separately.  Hiding guns from kids is not enough and telling them not to touch guns is not enough.  A three year old child has the strength to pull a trigger. (1)  It is the gun owner’s responsibility to ensure that the gun does not pose a hazard to others, and, in California, an adult is criminally liable if a child gains access to his/her gun. (2)

REMOVE unwanted guns from your home to protect against misuse and theft.  Most gun suicides are committed at home using the family gun. (3)   Contact your local Police Department for the proper procedure to turn in unwanted guns.

ASK if there are guns at the homes where the children in your care visit.  If there are, then make sure they are safely stored.  Visit askingsaveskids.org for more information.  About 40% of homes with children have guns, and many are loaded and unlocked. (4)

LEARN the facts about guns and gun violence.  The US leads the world in civilian gun ownership, (5) but all those guns don’t make us safer.  Guns injure or kill 100,000 people in the US every year, (6) and the gun death rate in the US is higher than all other industrialized nations. (7)

SHARE information about guns and gun violence with your family, friends, colleagues, and social networks.  Provide information and resources to those who are in a position to influence others such as health care providers, mental health providers, faith groups, educators, librarians, Democratic clubs and civic groups.  Invite one of our Chapter speakers to your next meeting to give a free presentation.

TELL your elected officials that you support legislation to strengthen state and federal gun laws.  Contact them by telephone, letter or email or by a personal visit. Contact them repeatedly at both their district and state/federal offices to voice your position. Attend Town Hall meetings. Keep the issue and your expectations before your elected officials.
Be sure to thank them when they support common sense gun laws because they will be receiving many negative comments from pro-gun activists.

SUPPORT gun violence prevention advocacy groups like OC Brady Campaign Chapter with your time and/or money.  “LIKE” us on our CHAPTER FACEBOOK PAGE, “FOLLOW” OUR TWEETS, SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHAPTER WEBSITE (BLOG),   CALL or EMAIL us to be placed on OC Brady Chapter’s E-ALERT and E-NEWS list.  REVIEW OUR CALIFORNIA WEBSITE.  SEE BELOW FOR ALL OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION.

WRITE letters to the editor of your local paper.  (letters@ocregister.com; letters@latimes.com)

IN ELECTION YEARS volunteer in the campaign for a candidate of your choice.

CELEBRATE and build on incremental successes.  Gun violence prevention activists just like you got involved and made a difference!  California has the strongest gun laws in the nation.  Between 1990 and 2010, California reduced its firearm mortality rate by 52 % - 24 percentage points better than in the rest of the nation. (8)

ACTIVISM COMES IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.  

FIND WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU AND COMMIT TO DOING SOMETHING TODAY!

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(1)  Naureckas SM et al. Children’s and women’s ability to fire handguns. Adolesc Med 1995                                    Dec;149(12): 1318-22
(2)  http://smartgunlaws.org/child-access-prevention-in-california/
(3)  http//www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/files/2012/09/MeansMatter_Brochure.pdf
(4)  askingsaveskids.com
(5)  Small Arms Survey Research Notes No. 9. Estimating Civilian Owned Firearms. Sept 2011
(6)  http://smartgunlaws.org/category/gun-studies-statistics/gun-violence-statistics/
(7)  Bangalore S and Messerli F. Gun ownership and firearm-related deaths. Am J of Med (2013) 126;873-876.  http//dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.04.012
(8)  Data source: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, WONDER online database.


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Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Orange County Chapter:
25255 Cabot Road, Suite 115, Laguna Hills, California  92653  (949) 206-9676
Email: orangecountybradychapter@gmail.com  
Twitter: www.twitter.com/oc_brady
Chapter Website: http://orangecountybradycampaignchapter.blogspot.com      
CA Website: www.bradycampaign.org/ca

A Victory that Will Save Lives.

THE BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 4, 2014
Contact: Jennifer Fuson
202-370-8128
jfuson@bradymail.org

Law will save lives. Shows strong national momentum after Sandy Hook.

Washington, D.C. – In the only place where guns were directly on the ballot this election day, Washington state voters overwhelmingly passed Initiative 594 to expand background checks to all gun sales, including online and at gun shows. A competing initiative (Initiative 591) designed to block the implementation of background checks and sponsored by the gun lobby is trailing significantly. Washington now becomes the seventh state to require background checks on all gun sales, the fifth state since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012 (Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, and New York).

“The bottom line is this law will save lives. Washingtonians should sleep better tonight knowing that their state will be a safer place thanks to expanded Brady background checks,” said Brady Campaign President Dan Gross.

The organization issued a report, Washington State Officers Attacked, Ambushed & Killed by Armed Criminals, which showed that there are 39 percent fewer law enforcement officers killed by firearms in states with expanded background checks. In addition, states that have expanded background checks show 38 percent fewer women killed by intimate partners. Washington was the only state in the country where background checks were voted on directly by citizens this election day. The last time voters cast ballots directly on background checks was in 2000, when Colorado and Oregon citizens voted to overwhelmingly pass laws that extended background checks. Colorado’s initiative passed 70 percent to 30 percent, and Oregon’s passed 62 percent to 38 percent.

Brady President Dan Gross went on to say, “Today’s great success in Washington confirms what we already knew, that the American public, in every state of this nation, overwhelmingly supports expanding background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people. Now we plan to keep building on this exciting momentum, taking this issue directly to voters in more states and showing the gun lobby ‘lap dogs’ in statehouses and Congress exactly where the American people stand.” Initiative 594 was the top electoral priority for the Brady Campaign and its Washington Chapters. The Brady Campaign was pleased to partner with the Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility, by placing thousands of calls to turn out voters and placing organizers on the ground to help achieve this monumental victory.

“Make no mistake, this is a huge victory for the gun violence prevention movement and for every American who wants to live in a safer nation. It is the first direct vote in years to show exactly where the American people really stand on the gun violence issue. Most importantly, it is an inspiring indication of things to come, as we work to ‘finish the job’ and expand lifesaving Brady background checks to all gun sales nationwide,” said Gross.

# # #

VICTORY!

GOVERNOR BROWN SIGNED AB 1014 INTO LAW

AB 1014 (Skinner) advances the Brady Campaign’s core mission of reducing firearm injury and death by keeping firearms out of dangerous hands. The law establishes a process for law enforcement or immediate family members to obtain a Gun Violence Restraining Order from a court in order to temporarily limit an individual’s access to firearms when there are warning signs or indications that the person is at risk for violence. The court order would prohibit the purchase or possession of firearms while the order is in effect. AB 1014 provides a way to prevent homicide, suicide and injury by removing firearms before a tragedy occurs.

There are many people who may be in a state of dangerousness but do not have a firearm prohibition. Heightened anger, despondence, substance abuse, or a mental or emotional crises combined with access to firearms can be a deadly combination. Family members or law enforcement often know when a person is at severe risk of harming him or herself or others and AB 1014 gives them a legal means to petition the court for a temporary firearm prohibition. The mass shooters in Tucson, Aurora, and Isla Vista did not have a criminal or mental health prohibition from owning a firearm; family members and others were concerned, but without a law like AB 1014, they had no legal tool to enable disarming the men before the shootings.

The consistent presence of the California Brady Campaign in the state capitol, along with their well-established relationships and reputation for respect, hard work, and policy knowledge made the California Brady Campaign instrumental in the passage of AB 1014. Their lead-off testimony was critical for getting AB 1014 out of the first policy committee. Key legislators were lobbied throughout the summer. The 25 California Brady Chapters garnered endorsements from a broad and diverse group of supporters and mobilized advocates in their own communities to contact legislators and Governor Brown, helping to secure the ultimate passage and signing of the bill.