This is a blog about a redesigned web site -- www.bradycampaign.org!  The Brady Campaign's new web site is strikingly attractive and packed with easy-to-find information.  And, in case, you have need a reminder as to why we work for sensible gun laws, check out the counter at the top of the home page.  When I looked this morning, the number of people shot this year in the US was 74,539 and the number shot today was 120.  The numbers have gone way up since I last checked.

California has many web pages at www.bradycampaign.org that tell our State story.  Just go to Find Your Chapter on the Home Page and click on California.  

Legislative Affairs -- tells you about all our current efforts at the state and federal levels

CA Gun Laws -- describes our impressive efforts so far, giving us Brady's highest state ranking, and also covers what else we need to do!

Chapter Activities -- spreads the word about activities happening in our 22 chapters.  Share your news by writing 1ofamillion@comcast.net

Tell Your Story -- features moving accounts from victims and survivors in preparation for our Mother's Day memorial in 2010

Federal Gun Laws -- provides an update on federal activities

CA Chapter Blog -- takes you right here to our California Brady Blog

Just in case you can't find what you're looking for, the new Brady Campaign web site has a search engine.

And when you find information on the web site that you want to share, just click on Share This.

I'm hardly a geek -- most new technology scares me!  But the new Brady web site works and it's easy.  Try it -- you'll see.

Why would a member of a Mexican drug cartel arm himself in the U.S.?  Quite simply because Mexican gun laws are much tougher than ours.  In Mexico, an individual can purchase a gun only from a licensed business and the purchase must be registered and approved by the Department of National Defense!  In the US, an individual in many states can buy a gun from an unlicensed seller without even a background check.  

But that's not all.  In states like Arizona and Texas where Mexican drug lords do business because of incredibly weak gun laws, traffickers can buy unlimited numbers of guns at one time and can purchase military-style assault weapons.  California is the only border state with Mexico that has laws strong enough to prevent major drug cartel purchases, but California's laws have no effect on criminals operating in neighboring border states.

Ample evidence for criminal export of guns can be found in the Brady Campaign's new report, EXPORTING GUN VIOLENCE (www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/pdf/reports/exporting-gun-violence.pdf).  Here's just one example of the cross-border drug trade from the Brady report:

Alan Rodriguez, 35, a struggling carpet-layer from the Dallas area, bought more
than 100 assault rifles, 9-mm handguns and other high-powered weapons
from U.S. gun dealers over several months, according to court records.
Authorities say traffickers gave him stacks of cash to buy the guns, with
marijuana laced in between the bills. He earned about $30 to $40 a gun,
according to court records. One of the pistols he bought in Dallas was used in a
cartel gunfight near Reynosa, Mexico, in which two federal police officers were
shot. In 2006, Rodriguez was sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison.

What we need to recognize is that the same US gun laws -- or lack of gun laws -- that wreak havoc in Mexico also wreak havoc in the US.  Again, as one example, the recent murder of four policement in Oakland involved an assault weapon that, while banned for sale in California, was likely transported from a neighboring state that allows the sale of assault weapons.

While we in California work hard to maintain and improve our gun laws, we are constantly reminded, now even by Mexico, that guns laws in other states and nationally are completely inadequate.  Mexico's Attorney General correctly called American gun laws "absurd."  We need national and international solutions to a national problem.
 
 

The California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence are excited about the Los Angeles City Council and City office elections taking place on March 3, 2009.  The Brady Campaign has endorsed four candidates, all extremely qualified and all strong supporters of our efforts to make our communities safer and decrease gun violence in our neighborhoods and urban areas.            

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has championed sensible gun laws throughout his public service career.  As noted by Kay Holmen, former President of Brady's California Chapters, "Villaraigosa was speaker of the State Assembly before serving on the Los Angeles City Council.  In the Assembly, he was instrumental in the passage of California's Assault Weapons Ban, the strongest of such measures in the U.S.  During his time as Mayor, he has consistently supported the LAPD and state and local bills that promote better safety controls over the sale and distribution of guns and ammunition."             

L.A. City Councilman Jack Weiss and Chair of the Public Safety Committee is running for L.A. City Attorney.  President of the Brady Campaign Paul Helmke stated that "Jack Weiss, as a federal prosecutor and as a member of the L.A. City Council, has been a consistent supporter of ensuring that the law enforcement community has the tools it needs to make Los Angeles a safer place."            

The Brady Campaign has made a dual endorsement in the race for the 5th District Los Angeles City Council.  Paul Koretz, former Assembly Member from 2000-2006, was a leader in the California legislature to ban .50 caliber rifles and to require microstamping of new semi-automatic handguns. Community activist Robyn Ritter-Simon was an early organizer and supporter of the Million Mom March.            

The L.A. City Council recently passed new gun and ammunition ordinances tightening restrictions on ammunition vendors.  Council Member Weiss, together with Council Member Janice Hahn, have recently proposed a new law to make it more difficult for individuals convicted of certain misdemeanors -- such as carrying a concealed weapon, possessing an assault weapon or committing burglary and gang crimes -- to own a gun.            

The California Brady Campaign Chapters expect the March 3 election will again bring to office leaders to continue L.A.'s leadership in the field of gun violence prevention.

How did the Brady Campaign fare in the 2008 election? As successful as the 2008 election was nationally for Brady Campaign endorsed candidates (2008 election results), the election was equally successful for candidates we endorsed in California. Congratulations to them!

In California, 95% of Brady-endorsed candidates were elected (California endorsements). When Brady-endorsed candidates in California ran against NRA-backed candidates, Brady-endorsed candidates won 4 out of 5 times. Clearly, the gun lobby is losing strength.

Let’s look at the State Assembly. With the victory of Brady-endorsed Joan Buchanan over an NRA-backed candidate in the 15th Assembly district that includes parts of Contra Costa and Alameda counties, the entire Bay Area is now made up of officeholders supportive of sensible gun laws. An NRA-supported candidate also lost in the 80th District that includes Coachella, Palm Springs and Calexico.

The Brady Campaign has supportive statewide office holders, including U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has also supported us by signing legislation to ban .50-caliber sniper rifles and require micro-stamping on semi-automatic handguns. We will be working with the Governor’s office on behalf of our priority bills in 2009.

As we move into the 2009 legislative session, we expect to have many state legislative supporters behind our priority bills. While California has the strongest gun laws in the country (California gun laws) as detailed in the annual Brady Campaign State Scorecard, there is more to do to keep dangerous guns out of the hands of dangerous people.

We will work to keep California on the cutting-edge of common sense gun legislation that can be modeled around the U.S.

We will be informing you about the work of our 20 California Chapters, including:

• our legislative activities in the state
  
• efforts to form additional California chapters
  
• local gun ordinances and violence prevention activities
  
• special events and fund-raising activities
  
• cooperative efforts with other violence prevention groups

We encourage you to interact with us by using the blog to send us your comments!

If you wish to receive this blog on your email, please notify me at ellenboneparth@gmail.com

We look forward to sharing our news and accomplishments with you. If you wish more news about the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, please go to our website.

The coming years will bring new successes as we work to making our communities and state safer and more secure. Please join us!

Warmly,
Ellen Boneparth
President, California Chapters