Press Releases

Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal announced that his legislation to reduce gun deaths will receive a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives next week.

Rep. Carbajal’s Extreme Risk Order Protection Act, which has more than 100 co-sponsors in the House and a companion bill led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in the Senate, would create a grant program at the U.S. Department of Justice to encourage states to adopt ‘red flag’ laws and support the 19 states that have already implemented them.

‘Red flag’ laws allow for the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may pose a danger to others or themselves, and can also prevent them from purchasing a firearm.

“In so many school shootings, from Parkland to Sandy Hook and Columbine to last week’s tragedy in Uvalde, there have been stark warning signs that red flag laws could have helped intervene and prevent these unspeakable tragedies. These laws have been shown in my home state of California to take guns away from violent individuals, saving lives,” said Rep. Carbajal. “These laws can prevent mass shootings, reduce suicides, disarm extremists, and protect our communities. That is why I have pushed for my bill to expand and improve use of these emergency measures—and am excited to see the House vote on it next week.”

Carbajal has championed this legislation since coming to Congress in 2017, less than a year after California became one of the first states to enact a red flag law in the aftermath of the 2014 U.C. Santa Barbara shooting.

In 2020, California judges issued more than 1,200 extreme risk protection orders, temporarily removing firearms from people deemed dangerous.

In past years, Carbajal’s measure has enjoyed bipartisan support in the House and has received the endorsement of multiple law enforcement agencies, teachers, and doctors.

The measure is expected to receive a vote in the House along with H.R. 2377, Congresswoman Lucy McBath’s Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act.

This vote in the House of Representatives is part of House Democrats' reaction to the murder of nineteen children in Uvalde, Texas and other recent deadly gun attacks.