Latest news with #RedFlagLaw
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Strong gun laws in California yield lowest gun deaths rates, Newsom says
( — Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement stating that California leads the nation in strong gun safety laws, correlating with many lives that were saved. Newsom stated that year after year, California has been ranked as the number one state in the country for its strong gun safety laws, along with some of the lowest rates of gun deaths, according to information from Giffords Law Center and Everytown for Gun Safety. In other states, where officials have passed gun safety laws, fewer people have died from gun violence, Newsom said. Texas and Florida, which have been ranked 32nd and 21st, respectively, in gun law strength, had firearm mortality rates more than 50% higher than California. Newsom said that according to the California Department of Justice Office of Gun Violence Prevention, if the gun death rate in the rest of the U.S. matched the state's over the past decade, there would have been almost 140,000 lives saved, and potentially hundreds of thousands of people would sustain gunshot injuries. California gun control bill that could ban popular Glock pistol sales moves forward 'Strong gun laws save lives,' said Newsom. 'California has reduced its gun violence rate because of its leading gun safety laws.' California was the first state in the nation to have a 'Red Flag Law' in 2016, according to Newsom. The law builds on a bedrock of available protection orders – nine in total – that would prohibit firearm possession for people subject to orders ranging from domestic violence and workplace harassment. In the first three years of the law, the protection order was used to prevent 58 cases of threatened mass shooting, according to Newsom. Newsom said, 'There have been significant increases in utilization of GVROs – increasing by 118% – from 2020 to 2023.' Newsom stated that he signed a bipartisan legislative package to further reinforce California's nation-leading gun laws and prevent incidents of mass violence. 'California won't wait until the next school shooting or mass shooting to act. In the absence of congressional action, our state is once again leading the way by strengthening our nation-leading gun laws. Data shows that California's gun safety laws are effective in preventing gun-related deaths, which makes the ongoing inaction and obstruction by politicians in the pocket of the gun lobby even more reprehensible.' Gov. Gavin Newsom Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Hennepin County Attorney finds John Sawchak incompetent for trial
The Brief A Minneapolis man accused of shooting his neighbor while he was cutting a tree on his front lawn has been found incompetent to stand trial. John Sawchak was arrested in October 2024 in the shooting of his neighbor, Davis Moturi. It took Minneapolis police four days to get Sawchak into custody. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis man accused of shooting his neighbor has been found incompetent to stand trial by a second doctor. The backstory John Sawchak was arrested in October of 2024, accused of shooting his neighbor, Davis Moturi, who was outside doing yard work at the time. He was shot in the neck while cutting down a tree in his front yard. The incident also sparked outrage against Minneapolis police as they took four days to get Sawchak into custody. Minneapolis City Council members wanted to know why. What we know The incident sparked the legislation of the Red Flag Law, which authorizes a judge to issue an Extreme Risk Protection Order that allows police to remove firearms from a person if that person is at risk of harming themselves or others. What's next The Hennepin County Attorney's Office withdrew its request for a competency hearing, and agreed the court should enter a finding of incompetency. The Source Information on the case was provided by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office on Wednesday.
