IN MEMORY OF ISLA VISTA

IN MEMORY OF ISLA VISTA

May 23rd will mark one year since the tragic shooting in Isla Vista and UC Santa Barbara.  This is a great time to write letters to the editor in memory of the victims and survivors, but also to get the word out that we responded to the shooting by working together to pass a law that will prevent further tragedies.  We need letters to the editor so that people know that this law will go into effect January 1, 2016.  Please let me know when you send one in.  You can go to any newspaper website and submit online.

Charlie Blek wrote an Op-Ed in the Orange County Register.  Please read it here: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/violence-662244-law-gun.html  or see below.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN WRITING A LETTER TO THE EDITOR, PLEASE SEE BELOW AND ATTACHED FOR TALKING POINTS.

ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ISLA VISTA

Talking Points for Op-eds/Letters to the Editor

• One year ago, California lost six innocent lives – and 14 others were wounded – when a man loved ones knew was dangerous, opened fire on the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.
• Elliot Rodger should never have had a gun. He had previously been identified by family members to authorities as potentially dangerous.
• But rather than suffer in silence, California took action. Under the leadership of Assembly Members Nancy Skinner and Das Williams and State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, and with the support of Gov. Jerry Brown, California crafted and passed the first state law establishing a gun violence restraining order.
• Californians now have a critical tool giving family members and law enforcement a way to protect loved ones – and the community – from individuals in crisis, irrespective of a mental illness diagnosis. Family members and law enforcement now have the capacity to speak up so that guns will be temporarily removed from loved ones who are at elevated risk of violence – and those same loved ones won’t be able to purchase guns until the courts deem they are no longer dangerous.
• Survivors/victims of gun violence, legislators, prosecutors, mental health practitioners /consumer groups, public health researchers, law enforcement and community leaders are working together to educate the public on this new mechanism so we can prevent tragedies like this from happening in the future.
• California has set a national model in evidence-based policy changes in gun violence prevention legislation.
• Individuals at high risk of committing gun violence should be disqualified, at least temporarily, from purchasing and possessing firearms, and families need tools to ensure the safety of their loved ones and others.
• The GVRO is supported by empirical research from mental and public health experts, that focusing on people with an elevated risk of dangerous behavior, rather than a diagnosis of mental illness, is a better approach to gun violence prevention policy.
• After each mass shooting, questions of mental health are raised in the ensuing policy discussions aimed at preventing future tragedies. However, since the vast majority of people with mental illness will never be violent, looking only at mental health is both too narrow and potentially stigmatizing. We should be focused on keeping guns out of the hands of people who are at an increased risk of dangerous behavior. That includes people in a mental health crises, or who have a history of violence or addiction to drugs and/or alcohol.
• In the last decade, our nation has seen a host of tragic mass shootings, many at the hands of people who, based on their history, you would think it’d be impossible that they could legally buy a gun.
• It is not, however, only mass shootings that can be prevented by implementing policies that look at the risk of dangerousness. Suicides make up the largest proportion of gun deaths – deaths that can be largely prevented by making it harder for individuals known to be a danger to themselves to access firearms.
• Though we now have a law on the books in California, it’s important to think about why we need such a law, right here in our state. 2013 data from the CDC indicate there were more than 3,000 firearm related deaths in California – more than half were suicides

Letters: New tool against shootings like UCSB rampage

May 18, 2015 

Updated 5:00 p.m.

By ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER            

 Sorority members mourn at a public memorial service May 27, 2014, for the victims of a killing spree at UC Santa Barbara.  , DAVID MCNEW, GETTY IMAGES 

All too often when a mass shooting takes place, we lament the tragic losses, but lack the political will to take the steps necessary to prevent such shootings. One year ago, California lost six innocent lives – and 14 others were wounded – when a man whose loved ones knew to be dangerous opened fire near the UC Santa Barbara campus.

Elliot Rodger should never have had a gun.

Fortunately, times are changing in California. Jan. 1, 2016, will be a historic date in California as Assembly Bill 1014 – the “Gun Violence Restraining Order” law – takes effect. Californians will have a critical tool giving family members and law enforcement a way to protect loved ones – and our communities – from individuals in crisis, whether or not there is a mental illness diagnosis. Family members and law enforcement now have redress through our courts so that guns will be temporarily removed from those who are at an elevated risk of violence, who will then be unable to purchase or possess guns until the courts deem them to be no longer dangerous.

It is important to understand that this new law is supported by empirical research from mental and public health experts, which focuses on elevated risk of dangerous behaviors, rather than on mental illness. This focus is a better approach to gun violence prevention policies. After each mass shooting, questions of mental health are raised in the ensuing policy discussions aimed at preventing future tragedies. However, as the vast majority of people with mental illness will never be violent, looking only at mental health is both too narrow and potentially stigmatizing. We should be focused on keeping guns out of the hands of people who are at an increased risk of dangerous behavior. This law focuses on people experiencing a crisis, or who have a history of violence or addiction to drugs and/or alcohol.

Our state judicial council is currently creating guidelines and preparing forms in order to implement this life-saving law. Now it is our task to create awareness within the general public on how to properly utilize the gun violence restraining order. Individuals at high risk of committing gun violence should be disqualified, at least temporarily, from purchasing and possessing firearms, and this law gives families the needed tools and access to our courts to ensure the safety of their loved ones and others.

We can think of no better way to honor those needlessly lost to gun violence one year ago in Isla Vista, than to fully implement this new law next January. Prevention is the key to our success in ending gun violence. Please help spread the word about this life-saving tool to all who work with families in crises and save a life.

Charles L. Blek, J.D.

Laguna Hills

Orange County Chapter president, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence