GUN LAWS: California and The Nation – What Should Be Done? January 17, 2012
Posted on Friday, January 11th, 2013
On January 17th, a wide range of views and expert voices tackled one of the most polarizing issues vexing our nation. A spate of recent high-profile massacres, including the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, has sparked a vigorous national conversation about designing new laws – at the state and federal level – that protect all citizens, including the rights of responsible gun owners. More than 30,000 people die in American annually from gun violence, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The panel discussed the national issues and California’s role in the dialogue regarding proposals to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, to pass stricter laws to buy and license guns and ammunition, to require gun vendors to do background checks on potential owners, and report sales so law enforcement can track guns and their owners.
Location: San Francisco Commonwealth Club Office
595 Market Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105
Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in; 6 p.m. program
Price: $20 standard, $12 Commonwealth Club members, Free for students (with valid ID)
Joining the Panel:
Nancy Skinner, Member, California State Assembly
Benjamin Van Houten, Managing Attorney, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Sgt. Kelly Dunn, SFPD Special Victims and Psychiatric Liaison Units
John Diaz, Editorial Page Editor, San Francisco Chronicle – Moderator
Read more about the event on the Commonwealth Club’s website.
A loaded gun in the hands of an unstable person wreaked havoc almost 20 years ago at 101 California Street in downtown San Francisco. Nine people died and scores of lives were forever shattered. In the decades since, mass shootings continue to occur across America: Columbine High, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Aurora, Oak Creek – most of them with legal weapons, many in the hands of a mentally ill person. How can we predict and prevent violent acts in those who are mentally ill? What is the medical profile of a mentally ill person capable of carrying out this kind of violent act? How do the state and federal laws protect the rights of mentally ill persons and the community at large? The Commonwealth Club will examine these challenging questions with an expert panel, including Carol Kingsley, Board Member of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
