In light of the terrifying series of gun massacres in the US in the last month and this week's massacre in Binghamton, New York, we reprint an article written by Amanda Wilcox.  Amanda and Nick Wilcox are the Legislative Chairs for the California Brady Campaign.  Amanda is also the Interim Chair of the Brady Chapter in Sacramento.

In the article below, Amanda describes the loss in 2001 of Laura Wilcox, Amanda and Nick's daughter, in a shooting by a severely mentally ill person.  The experience of losing a loved one to gun violence cannot be imagined.  In the article below, Amanda describes how tracking ammunition sales can assist in decreasing gun violence.  That subject will be discussed in the subsequent blog.

By Amanda Wilcox:

It is said that a child in the US is far more likely to catch a bullet than to catch the measles. Every year in our country, about 30,000 people die from gun violence and over 70,000 people are injured by gunfire. Drive-by shootings and firearm homicides are becoming common occurrences in the Sacramento area. Have you had enough? Join the Campaign to keep illegal guns off our streets and help curb gun violence.  

My family has been personally touched by gun violence. In 2001, my only daughter, Laura, was murdered while home on winter break from college. Laura was filling in as a receptionist at a Behavioral Health clinic in Nevada County, when, without warning, a patient suffering from severe paranoid schizophrenia opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun and shot Laura four times at point blank range. Laura was killed instantly. When the shooting rampage at the clinic and at a nearby restaurant ended, three people lay dead, three were severely injured, a community was shaken, and the world was diminished by the loss of an incredible young woman.

The circumstances surrounding Laura’s death dramatically highlight the tragic intersection of untreated severe mental illness and inappropriate access to firearms. Certainly, improved mental health care and better access to treatment are morally right and necessary for true violence prevention. The enforcement of laws that keep firearms out of inappropriate hands is also essential.     

Laura’s killer had a houseful of illegal weapons. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence believes that dangerous weapons should be kept out of dangerous hands. There are classes of people, who, based on past behaviors, are deemed to be at high risk of committing violent acts with firearms. We have laws that prohibit these persons – such as the dangerously mentally ill, gang members, violent felons, or wife batterers – from purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition. We have laws, such as the Brady Background Check, that regulate the transfer of weapons and provide the means for keeping guns out of dangerous hands. The City of Sacramento and the State of California are leaders in adopting such laws, which need to be expanded to other jurisdictions or states.   

Last year, Sacramento City Council Member McCarty introduced a city ordinance that tracks ammunition sales in order to deter and detect ammunition purchases by criminals, gang members, and other unlawful purchasers. The ordinance requires gun dealers to maintain a log of ammunition sales, including identifying information about the purchaser. The Sacramento Police Department cross-checks these logs with the existing state database of prohibited persons and can determine who is illegally buying ammo and may be illegally armed. Furthermore, the Police Department regularly uses the ammunition log information in the investigation of gun crime.   

After eight months of data (Jan. 2008 – Sept. 2008), the results are astounding. The Sacramento Police Department reports that 117 prohibited people purchased ammunition. Of these prohibited people, 80% had felony convictions and 6 were gang members. 67% of the illegal ammunition purchased was primarily ammunition used in handguns. It is important to note that handguns are the weapons of choice for criminals.   

As a result of the information from the ammunition logs, the Sacramento Police Department was able to execute 28 search warrants and recover 56 illegal firearms, 800+ rounds of illegal ammunition, and 3 stolen firearms. Arrests, felony charges and convictions have taken place. The Sacramento Police Department reports that, “The ordinance and the enforcement program which has resulted from it have proven to be effective tools for locating firearms violators.”  

The level of gun crime and gun violence in the Sacramento area has become disturbingly high. Disarming criminals and other prohibited persons is a critical step for improving public safety. The Sacramento City Ammunition Ordinance provides a means for identifying and disarming criminals and other prohibited persons. However, illegal guns and illegal ammo does not stop at city lines. To the extent that Sacramento County and other neighboring jurisdictions adopt similar ordinances, the surrounding communities will become safer. To that end, Council Member McCarty and the Sacramento Valley Brady Campaign Chapter are seeking a countywide ammunition ordinance.