I live in Santee, California, where on March 5, 2001, a 15-year-old student took an eight-shot, .22-caliber revolver to class at Santana High School. The student opened fire, killing two students and wounding 13 others. Santana showed me that this kind of thing can happen anywhere, and SD4GVP and similar groups across the nation are dedicated to eliminating shootings in places like schools. We work through legislative action, public education and whatever impact we can have to reduce the glorification of gun violence in the media. Eliminating guns is not a feasible goal, nor is it desirable ..read more

(See video of the event ») SUPERVISOR LAWSON-REMER, GUN SAFETY ADVOCATES RAISE AWARENESS, HONOR VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE San Diego Event Kicks Off Wear Orange and Highlights Local Achievements in Gun Violence Prevention  SAN DIEGO (June 3, 2024) – San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention (SD4GVP) held a press conference today to kick off Wear Orange and Gun Violence Awareness Weekend and highlight recent successes in preventing gun violence locally. They were joined by representatives from GIFFORDS Law Center and Team ENOUGH ..read more

Ira Sharp Firearm Dealer Accountability Act Show your support and help us get this passed!   Add your comment: On Tuesday, June 4, at 10:00 am the San Diego City Council will vote on the Ira Sharp Firearm Dealer Accountability Act (aka Firearm Dealer Accountability Act). This ordinance reforms the City’s firearm and ammunition procurement practices, ensuring that firearms are bought only from dealers who follow all legal requirements. Click here to read the Staff Report.  We need to support this critical action and ask for your help with an eComment ..read more

We’re relieved to tell you that the Biden-Harris Administration announced on January 25 a series of new executive actions to help promote the safe storage of firearms. The actions implement President Biden’s Executive Order of March 2023, which promoted safe gun storage as a way of reducing gun violence and making our communities safer. It’s great-big news because safe storage of firearms can physically prevent young people from accessing firearms. Guns that are not safely stored are closely associated with school shootings, youth suicide, unintentional shootings and theft of firearms. Our th ..read more

On the morning of December 14, 2012, we were preparing our annual Hanukkah party for thirty neighbors and our family. Standing at the head of our dining room table, I placed the menorah on the blue cloth with the box of candles, the matches and my husband Art’s well-worn Sabbath and Festival Prayer Book.  The Today Show was on TV but I did not pay attention until I heard the loud announcement:  “Special Report: 26 children and staff were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut.” It was heart-stopping news to hear – hours before a party attended by elev ..read more

This period of late October to early November is a particularly harrowing time of mass shooting memories. There have been lessons learned, loopholes closed, gun safety measures taken and opportunities missed. Think of 2017, at Sutherland Springs Church in Texas. Think of 2018, at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. Think of 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. I’m sharing comments from a column by Kate Woodsome, who lived in Portland, Maine. Her take is “Gun rights advocates will focus on mental illness. Gun-control advoc ..read more

Our own Therese Hymer (shown below at San Diego Board of Supervisors meeting) was interviewed this week on local station KNSJ, 89.1 FM. The hour-long interview covered the wide-ranging package of gun-safety bills passed recently by the California Legislature and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. To learn more about the new laws and how they help prevent gun violence, listen to the interview: https://sd4gvp.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Womens-Radio-Hour-10.17.23.mp3   photo credit (top): Office of Governor Gavin Newsom ..read more

On August 15, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released the first-ever data report from the Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP). The report summarizes gun violence data in California and throughout the U.S. and has the potential to guide policy and strategy discussions related to reducing gun violence. No mean feat Releasing the report is a pretty big deal, even for a state like California, which prides itself on common-sense gun legislation. After all, it was only a year ago, in September 2022, that AG Bonta established the OGVP with the mission of reducing and preventing gun viole ..read more

June 2, 2023 is proclaimed Gun Violence Awareness Day in San Diego County ..read more

The first half of 2023 has been productive, as we’ve begun shaking off the three years of hesitation brought to us by COVID-19. SD4GVP has strengthened its ties to youth groups, especially in schools. The present affects young people disproportionately and the future of the movement lies with their determination to end gun violence. As our photo album shows, whether we were marching with a congresswoman under threatening skies . . . . . . participating in a Walk-and-Knock with the San Diego Police Department after a shooting in Lincoln Park . . . . . . helping middle-school stud ..read more