Youth, community leaders take center stage in launch of gun safety effort

Underscoring the state’s commitment to using every tool available to prevent gun violence, the Reduce the Risk campaign will be led by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and aims to close the gap in public knowledge through key engagement about California’s nine types of protection orders, which temporarily remove firearms to prevent larger tragedies. A recent survey shows nearly 80 percent of Californians are concerned about how little they know about these legal tools. 

“Protection orders have been a driving factor in reducing shootings, suicides, and domestic violence,” said Cal OES Director Nancy Ward. “Yet many Californians don’t know they exist. This campaign continues the work we began in 2023 to make sure every community knows how to use them.”

The Reduce the Risk campaign is informed by the Champions Advisory Council,  composed of experts in law enforcement, legal practice, and health care, as well as the Youth Advisory Council, a group of young leaders on the frontlines of gun violence prevention. These youth advisors are helping shape campaign activities to better reach and engage younger Californians, who will be critical to sustaining progress in the future.

California’s youth as a solution

Nationwide, firearms are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents. Compared to the rest of the nation, California has made substantial long-term progress in reducing per capita rates of youth firearm homicide. CDC data showed that in 2022, California’s firearm homicide rate for youth under 25 was about 50% below the rate recorded for the rest of the U.S. By contrast, nationwide youth gun homicides increased over 46% from 2019-2021.

“The Youth Advisory Council plays a vital role in shaping real solutions to gun violence by bringing the voices of those directly impacted into the conversation,” said Maxwell Martinez of Sacramento, Youth Advisory Council member, who is a survivor of gun violence and recent graduate from Chico State. “Young people are not just the future, we are the present. Our perspectives are essential in driving urgent, lasting change.”

California has long been a national leader in gun violence prevention, with laws like universal background checks, assault weapons bans, and mandatory waiting periods. These efforts have paid off: California consistently has one of the lowest gun death rates in the nation. But the toll remains high – about 3,200 Californians lose their lives to gun violence each year, with suicides making up a significant share, especially among men. 

“Gun violence affects every community, and for too long, young people have been left out of the conversation. Through my work producing a documentary on gun violence prevention, I saw the power of youth voices firsthand,” said Sarah Youssef of San Diego, Youth Advisory Council member, high school senior, and active participant in the local chapter of the Brady Campaign. “Reduce the Risk gives us the platform we need to push for real change and make sure no more lives are lost to preventable violence.” 

Community leaders come together

Experts from the Champions Advisory Council include community leaders who see the daily toll that gun violence has on families statewide. 

“There is solid evidence that restraining orders can help prevent interpersonal violence, including domestic violence and mass shootings, and suicide. Reduce the Risk will help Californians put these important tools to work,” said Garen Wintemute, MD, MPH, Director of the Centers for Violence Prevention at the University of California, Davis.

In California, men aged 15–44 die by suicide at 3 to 4 times the rate of women, often by firearms. While violence is focused both internally and externally, affecting all people in the community, men are responsible for almost 80% of violent crime. Almost half of female homicide victims are killed by a current or former male intimate partner.

“Too often we see the devastation that could have been prevented if someone had spoken up or taken action. Protection orders are a proven tool that can interrupt violence before it happens,” said Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper. “Through the Reduce the Risk campaign, we are making sure every Californian knows how to use these lifesaving laws.”

Protection orders reduce gun violence 

California was the first state in the nation to adopt a “red flag law” in 2016. In the first three years of their existence, these protection orders were used to prevent 58 cases of threatened mass shootings. The protection orders available in California include:

• Gun Violence Restraining Order
• Domestic Violence Restraining Order
• Civil Harassment Restraining Order
• Elder/Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order
• Juvenile Restraining Order
• Postsecondary School Violence Restraining Order
• Workplace Restraining Order
• Criminal Protective Order
• Emergency Protective Orders

California’s strong leadership

California is ranked as the #1 state in the country for its strong gun safety laws — along with some of the lowest rates of gun deaths — by Giffords Law Center and Everytown for Gun Safety. In states where officials have passed gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence. Texas and Florida, which ranked 32nd and 21st, respectively in gun law strength, had firearm mortality rates more than 50% higher than California. Click here to download the updated gun safety fact sheet.

California has reduced its gun violence rate because of its leading gun safety laws. If the gun death rate in the rest of the U.S. matched California’s over the past decade, there would have been nearly 140,000 lives saved and potentially hundreds of thousands fewer gunshot injuries.

Last year, Governor Newsom signed a bipartisan legislative package to further reinforce California’s nation-leading gun laws, prevent traumatic incidents of mass violence, and establish the first in the nation Office of Gun Violence Prevention. 

California has invested $1.1 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California’s Public Safety Plan, the Governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.

Resources

The campaign also launched a new website, ReduceTheRisk.ca.gov, which will offer educational materials in multiple languages and free training resources for community organizations across the state.