Assemblymember Bonta Appointed Chair of Gun Violence Committee in East Bay

From Assemblymemeber Rob Bonta's Staff:

Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) is proud to announce his appointment to the new Assembly Select Committee on Gun Violence in the East Bay.

Bonta will have the opportunity to convene hearings involving key stakeholders from the East Bay to examine the root causes of, and identify effective strategies to reduce, gun violence in cities such as Oakland.

"Allow me to first thank Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez for appointing me as Chair of the Select Committee on Gun Violence in the East Bay. As Chair of this critical committee, my primary goal is to help make the entire East Bay, especially Oakland, a safer place to live and raise our families," Bonta said after learning of the appointment. "Last year's 131 homicides in Oakland set a new high since 2006, and in light of the nine deaths that have already occurred this year, Oakland is on track for a similarly violent 2013. This level of violence in our community must end.” 

Bonta further explained that his immediate next step will be to collaborate with Speaker Pérez to appoint the full membership of the Select Committee.  Simultaneously, Chair Bonta is formulating the Select Committee's agenda for its first hearing, to be scheduled soon.

"Stemming gun violence in the East Bay will take the entire community's time and resources. I welcome input from every individual that cares about improving the quality of life for all of us. It is my hope that through our collective effort we will successfully make our streets safer and give our residents greater peace of mind," concluded Bonta.

As part of a large-scale legislative effort to curb the ongoing epidemic of gun violence, Bonta has introduced AB 174 and AB 187 this year.

AB 174 will address several legal anomalies in current law that allow persons to own dangerous assault weapons and large capacity magazines that are illegal to purchase and sell. AB 187 would place a tax on the sale of ammunition in California, with the proceeds going to a crime prevention fund for areas of the state suffering from violent crime.