Press Releases

On the tenth anniversary of the mass shooting in Isla Vista, California, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) today released a video statement remembering the lives lost and recommitting to curbing gun violence in their memory.

The full video statement can be found here.

“I still remember that day. The phone calls I got, the anguish we all felt both for Isla Vista and my alma mater UCSB,” said Rep. Carbajal. “Sadly in the years since we have seen more and more lives lost to senseless gun violence – so when I came to Congress I pledged to Isla Vista and all of the Central Coast that I would work every day, tirelessly, to end gun violence.”

Rep. Carbajal championed federal grant funding to help states implement ‘red flag laws,’ which California helped pioneer in the wake of the 2014 attack that killed six and injured 14 others, through his Extreme Risk Protection Order Act. Red flag laws help law enforcement intervene and temporarily remove a firearm from someone who is deemed by a court to pose a risk to themselves or others.

Rep. Carbajal’s legislation and other gun safety measures were passed in 2022 in the first federal gun safety legislation in 30 years: the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

That bipartisan gun safety package included multiple other provisions to reduce gun deaths and keep American communities safe, including the closing of the ‘boyfriend loophole’ and the ‘gun-show loophole’ to improve background check requirements on gun purchases.

President Joe Biden announced last month that his administration was implementing the final regulations to enforce the improved background checks and tighter rules on the purchase of firearms at gun shows, flea markets, and other informal settings – estimated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms projects to require new background checks on tens of thousands of unlicensed gun sales every year.

In his statement, Rep. Carbajal recommits to pushing for additional actions at the federal level, including outlawing assault weapons and high-capacity magazines as well as further expanding background check requirements and continuing to implement his ‘red flag’ law legislation.

The full transcript of his video statement can be found below:

“10 years ago today, Isla Vista joined a long list of American communities devastated by a deadly mass shooting.

“I still remember that day. The phone calls I got, the anguish we all felt both for Isla Vista and my alma mater UCSB.

“Sadly, in the years since we have seen more and more lives lost to senseless gun violence, so when I came to Congress I pledged to Isla Vista and all of the Central Coast that I would work every day tirelessly to end gun violence.

“I am proud of the most important steps we have taken to curb gun deaths and keep dangerous guns out of the hands of those who threaten our community.

“I championed new gun laws to promote red flag laws, crack down on gun traffickers, and most recently, close loopholes in our background check system. Last month President Biden took the final steps in enforcing legislation that I help pass, which cracks down on the sale of firearms without a proper background check at places like flea markets or gun shows.

“This is a loophole that allows thousands of illegal gun sales every year putting dangerous weapons in the hands of criminals, gangs, and gun traffickers.

“I'm proud to secure this important update in our nation's gun safety laws through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, but I know there is still more we can do.

“In the memory of those who died on May 23rd, 2014, and every life we have lost since to gun violence, I promise to you that I will not stop fighting to pass more common sense gun safety laws in Congress – including outlawing assault weapons, banning high capacity magazines, and taking the final steps needed to achieve universal background checks in our country.

“Please join me today in remembering those we have lost and recommitting to helping make our communities safe from gun violence once and for all.”