Team,
Tuesday, millions of children around the country got ready for school. They packed their lunches, double-checked their homework, and grabbed their bags. For 19 of those children, it would be the last time.
Our children shouldn’t have to look for a hiding place in every new room they enter. People have a right to feel safe no matter where they are, whether it’s a grocery store, church, elementary school, and everywhere else in between.
This is a dark moment – and one that is all too familiar in our country. Nineteen children and two teachers are dead. We have had more mass shootings in 2022 than days in the year. Last week it was Laguna Woods. The week before, Buffalo.
We cannot sit by and accept the current norm, and in California, we refuse to do so. We will continue to call on our federal leaders and neighboring states to do more, because our nation’s current standard for preventing gun violence is unacceptable. Lockdown drills, metal detectors, and schools that look like prisons are not the answer.
We need commonsense gun safety laws. We need fewer guns on our streets, not more. We need fewer guns in the hands of young people, not more. We need to regulate ghost gun kits and hold accountable those who manufacture and sell them illegally.
America, we must do better. We mourn for the people of Texas and the families who have lost loved ones. And we are sick and tired of seeing young and promising lives cut short due to gun violence. We at the California Department of Justice know that addressing gun violence is critical to public safety. The time for conversation has passed, and I vow to do much more than send thoughts and prayers.
Enough is enough. And we are long past enough.
Rob Bonta
