SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Attorney General Rob Bonta was in San Diego Thursday talking about gun violence, but his message was to the rest of the state: Be like San Diego.
Why? Red flag laws are what allows a court to temporarily take away someone’s firearm if they are potentially dangerous. San Diegans are taking advantage of this.
“I've traveled to San Diego today to highlight the good work that is happening in this city," Bonta said. "That is helping us turn the tide”
Bonta is praising San Diego's use of a red flag law called a gun violence restraining order, or GVRO. In the last five years, there’s been 900 issued in the county.
“Thirty-two percent of all gun violence restraining orders issued statewide were issued in this county, Bonta said. "That's right, 32% of all gun restraining orders were issued right here despite San Diego County being just around 8% of California's total population.”
He said San Diego has a team dedicated to helping community members with filing a GVRO.
“They can be confusing, but law enforcement and others can help demystify the tool so that it's being utilized the way it was designed and intended to save lives throughout the state," Bonta said.
Who can file a restraining order to remove a firearm?
- A close family member
- A roommate
- Employer or coworker
- Teacher
- Law enforcement officer.
“ You are less likely to get shot and killed in California than in Texas, than in Florida, than in nearly every other state in the nation because of our common sense," Bonta frequently says.
Publisher of a Second Amendment news site, Craig Deluz takes issue with Bonta’s message Thursday.
“What they don't tell you is once someone's firearms and their rights have been taken, how often when they go to court, was it deemed that they shouldn't have lost them in the first place?" Deluz said. "In other words, how often are those rights then given back because they never should have been taken? It's one thing they won't tell you because the numbers aren't going to come out in their favor.
He said the person who has the restraining order filed against them are often left in the dark, not told what steps they need to take.
"This is a process that is a civil process, not a criminal process," he explained. "So you are not afforded innocent until proven guilty. You're also not given not given an attorney to help guide you through this process.”
Bonta said he has $5 million more dollars to give out in grants to local law enforcement agencies to help them with programs to seize weapons from prohibited people.
He said it’s time to apply. The application closes in just a few days on Sep. 2.
WATCH RELATED: California Attorney General urges state to follow San Diego's lead when it comes to gun control