Rep. DeSaulnier Announces Virtual Gun Violence Prevention Town Hall

Walnut Creek, CA – Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) announced he will host a virtual Gun Violence Prevention Town Hall to discuss curbing the epidemic of gun violence on Wednesday, August 14^th at 1:00 p.m. PT with special guest Representative Mike Thompson, Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

With firearm deaths on the rise and firearms being the leading cause of death for children and teens, the town hall will include an update on House Democrats’ commonsense gun violence reform proposals and work to address all forms of gun violence, including suicides, mass shootings, and homicides. Congressman DeSaulnier will be joined by Rep. Thompson and a panel of special guests who will share their expertise and take questions.

Panelists include:

• Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04), Chairman of House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
• Dr. Garen Wintemute, Director of UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program
• Karen Callaghan, Moms Demand Action, Data Lead

Virtual Town Hall
Wednesday, August 14^th
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. PT
Zoom and facebook.com/repmarkdesaulnier

To reserve your spot and receive a Zoom link, submit a question, or request special accommodations, visit https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or call (925) 933-2660.

This will be Congressman DeSaulnier’s 213^th town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress in January 2015.

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Related Stories:

• Nov 2023 – AG Report: Links Between Domestic Violence and Gun Violence Highlights from the report, which can be found here, include:
  • California has made substantial long-term progress in reducing the incidence of domestic violence involving firearms and in reducing gun homicide rates for women and children, who are disproportionately impacted by domestic violence-related homicides. From 1993 to 2019, California recorded a 63% reduction in per capita rates of domestic violence-related calls for law enforcement assistance involving firearms, a 61% reduction in domestic violence-related gun homicides, a 67% reduction in female-victim gun homicide rates, and an 80% reduction in gun homicide rates for children aged 14 and under.
  •  California’s gun homicide rates for women and children have been much lower than rates recorded for the rest of the nation. From 2018-2022, California’s female-victim gun homicide rate was about half (46% below) the rate recorded for the rest of the U.S. For children aged 14 and under, California’s gun homicide rate was less than half (57% below) the rate for the rest of the nation. However, over the past decade, a majority of all female homicide victims in California were killed by a current or former intimate partner or family member, and a majority of child homicide victims between the ages of one and 14 were killed by a family member.
  • California also experienced substantial increases in domestic violence-related calls for law enforcement assistance involving reported use or threatened use of firearms during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, court records also showed a 17% decrease in the number of cases filed seeking the protections of a DVRO in California.
  • County-level analysis also shows that some counties reported much higher rates of firearm-related domestic violence incidents than others.
• Aug 2023 – First-Ever Data Report by DOJ’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention: The report highlights California’s successes in preventing gun violence, and through insightful data, it shines a light on successful strategies and further areas for improvements. For example, over the last 30 years, California has reduced its gun violence rate compared to the rest of the United States; once 50% above average, California’s firearm homicide rate is now 33% below the rest of the United States. Additionally, if the firearm mortality rate in the rest of the United States had matched California’s between 2013-2022, there would have been nearly 140,000 fewer firearm-related deaths nationwide in that decade alone. California has made especially significant progress in reducing rates of youth gun homicide since 2006. Even after pandemic-era increases, California’s youth gun homicide rate in 2022 was 50% lower than it was in 2006. In contrast, the next two most populous states after California — Florida and Texas — experienced substantial increases in youth homicide rates between 2006 and 2022, rising by 23% in Florida and 48% in Texas.
• June 2023 – Governor Newsom Proposes 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to End America’s Gun Violence Crisis