State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, and Sheriff Kelly Martinez on Friday announced a bill intended to keep guns out of the hands of people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Senate Bill 1002 would give people recently discharged from a mental health care facility 72 hours to turn over their firearms, closing what Blakespear called a “gap” in existing law which makes it difficult for law enforcement to ensure those newly prohibited from owning firearms turn them in.
“In California, we have strong gun safety laws, but our laws are only as effective as their implementation,” Blakespear said. “SB 1002 takes the next step forward in protecting Californians from gun violence by adding measures to ensure that people who are placed on mental health holds turn in their firearms as required.”
Blakespear’s office said Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, R-Laguna Niguel, co-authored the bill, and said Martinez and San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliot are co-sponsors.
According to data from the California Department of Justice, more than 4,800 people statewide who are legally required to surrender their firearms due to mental health-related issues have not done so.
SB 1002 is also intended to require the state DOJ to inform people undergoing a mental health crisis of the firearm prohibition, increase coordination between the DOJ and local law enforcement, and direct health care facilities and courts to inform individuals how to relinquish their weapons according to local procedures and the law.
From 2017 to 21023, the Sheriff’s Department reviewed, on average, 8,750 mental health hold cases each year, ensuring they followed up when a person had a firearm. In most cases, the individual voluntarily complies, officials said.
“SB 1002 enhances law enforcement’s ability to utilize education and outreach efforts to provide clarity in a process that can be overwhelming, especially when an individual is returning from a critical mental health state,’’ Martinez said. “Any opportunity for us to bridge service delivery gaps, with a compassionate approach, is a step in the right direction.”
Under state code 5150, people who are experiencing mental health crises and are essentially unable to take care of themselves or are considered a danger to themselves or others can be involuntarily held at a health care institution for 72 hours.
Elliot said the issue of gun violence “is too large for any of us to solve in isolation.”
“We have learned through too many preventable gun deaths that strong laws are only as good as the structures in place to enforce them,” she said.
“That is why I am proud to co-sponsor SB 1002, which is laser-focused on creating a strong infrastructure to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of those who have already been determined to pose a threat to themselves or others,” she said.
