Gilroy. El Paso. Dayton. We cannot forget these grieving
cities, added to an ever-growing list that includes one of our own communities:
Isla Vista.
It’s the details of the El Paso shooting that I can’t shake.
The manifesto released by the shooter in El Paso is too similar to that
released by the Isla Vista shooter. Both steeped in hatred. The El Paso
manifesto — hatred of immigrants. The Isla Vista shooter — hatred of women.
It’s caused me to ruminate on one question: When are we going to take the
threat of white supremacy, toxic masculinity, and their ties to domestic
terrorism seriously?
As an elected official, I can’t wrap my head around it. It
is literally our job to ensure our constituents have safe, healthy communities
to live in. After the Isla Vista shooting, I co-authored a successful piece of
legislation with then-assemblymember Nancy Skinner and our Senator Hannah-Beth
Jackson, creating the Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO), modeled after the
Domestic Violence Restraining Order. The GVRO allows concerned family members,
intimate partners, or friends to work with law enforcement and the courts to
temporarily remove guns or prevent the purchase of new guns if someone is found
to be demonstrating behavior that may indicate they are likely to commit
violence against others or themselves.