San Diego, CA

San Diego region’s gun violence prevention efforts getting $4.2 million boost

Published

2 years ago

August 7, 2024

San Diego region’s gun violence prevention efforts getting .2 million boost

The San Diego region just got a $4.2 million boost to expand gun violence prevention efforts through court orders designed to quickly get guns out of the hands of people who pose a threat.

The money from two state grants will go to outreach and education about civil court orders, including gun violence restraining orders, that require people who are alleged to be dangerous to turn over their firearms. The funding will also be used to create a task force to enforce those court orders.

San Diego is the most active user of gun violence restraining orders in the state. At a news conference Tuesday at the San Diego Police Department downtown, Attorney General Rob Bonta said the city has “truly been a model for how to use evidence-based, data-driven solutions that work that prevent firearm violence from happening in the first place.”

“It’s also been an exemplary policy and approach that others can learn from,” Bonta said.

Gun violence restraining orders, or GVROs, are judge-approved civil court orders intended for crisis intervention. They require a person to surrender or sell their firearms and bar the person from having guns or ammunition for the duration of the order, which can last up to five years.

Supporters of such orders hail them as a vital public safety measure to intervene in dangerous behavior. Critics disparage them as overreach and an affront to the Second Amendment.

City Attorney Mara Elliott has championed gun violence restraining orders, and her office said Tuesday it has obtained more of them than any other city in the nation. Law enforcement working with the San Diego City Attorney’s Office have seized more than 3,700 guns using the orders.

Elliott said the grant money “will lead to one of the most significant expansions of gun violence prevention work in California” since the state law creating them was passed, prompted by the 2014 mass shooting near UC Santa Barbara that killed six people.

Of the new funding coming to the region, $2 million from the state’s Judicial Council will go toward a new Firearms Relinquishment Task Force to enforce court orders intended to disarm people alleged to pose a threat. The task force met for the first time last week.

The remaining $2.2 million, from the California Department of Justice, will go toward law enforcement training and public education about gun violence restraining orders and other court orders designed to separate a person from firearms. That money will go to the San Diego City Attorney’s Office.

Tuesday’s announcement of increased funding comes little more than six weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of removing firearms from certain dangerous people such as domestic violence suspects, the City Attorney’s Office noted in a news release. It added that California is “doubling down” on using court orders to disarm people who pose a threat.

The state’s gun violence restraining order law went into effect in 2016. From then to the end of last year, two California counties account for 44 percent of all such orders — Santa Clara and San Diego, according to a report that Bonta’s Office of Gun Violence Protection issued in June.

San Diego County also had “by far the highest number” of gun violence restraining orders made into “permanent” orders, which can last up to five years, during that same eight-year stretch, the report stated — 35 percent of all the long-term orders in California were issued in San Diego.

Gun violence restraining orders are often obtained very quickly after an incident or threat. They start as temporary 21-day orders, followed by a court hearing for a judge to consider extending them.

Many of those do not turn into long-term orders, and it’s not uncommon for the temporary order to be dissolved. Sometimes deals are struck to handle cases through less restrictive means, and people can get their weapons back sooner.

California has nine types of court orders that can remove guns from people, including in cases alleging domestic violence, workplace violence or civil harassment. The report from Bonta’s office states that gun violence restraining orders accounted for 1 percent of the orders issued with firearm provisions in 2023.

Originally Published: August 6, 2024 at 6:35 p.m.

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San Diego, CA

The Best Things to Do in San Diego: May 2026 | San Diego Magazine

Published

10 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

The Best Things to Do in San Diego: May 2026 | San Diego Magazine

When we think of May, we think of Mother’s Day, blooming flowers, sunny skies, and lots of fun, seasonal events in the city. This month, locals can dine on the creations of James Beard Award-Winning Chefs at Rancho Bernardo Inn, or take advantage of berry season at the annual Vista Strawberry Festival. Theatre lovers can enjoy a showing of Kim’s Convenience at The Old Globe, while the San Diego Natural History Museum invites art enthusiasts to view its latest marine-themed exhibit. Grab your tickets and crack open that planner. Here are all the best things to do in San Diego this month:

Concerts & Festivals | Theater & Art Exhibits | More Fun Things to Do

Concerts & Festivals in San Diego This Month

29

Louisiana legend Juvenile, enhances by the live instrumentation of The 400 Degreez Band, will perform career hits and his newest album, Boiling Point, at House of Blues San Diego.

Photo Credit: Dahlia Katz

Theater & Art Exhibits in San Diego This Month

5/5–6/1

Turning the spotlight on contemporary LGBTQ artists, the inaugural ArtSpectrum 2026 will showcase both the grand and intimate scale of contemporary painters, photographers, and mixed media artists at Village Arts Outreach in Balboa Park.

12–24

The only ordinary element of the San Diego International Fringe Festival is the constant thrill of the extraordinary. Discover a plethora of innovative performances at venues from Pacific Beach to Baja.

5/15–6/14

A Korean-Canadian family balances tradition and assimilation from their Toronto storefront in Ins Choi’s comforting satire Kim’s Convenience, making its local premier at The Old Globe.

5/22–2/2027

Ocean debris will receive a new beginning at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Using repurposed pollution, Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea depicts creatively sculpted marine life.

More Fun Things to Do in San Diego This Month

4/30–5/3

Enjoy fine dining at its finest from a lineup of gastronomic titans during 54 Hours with James Beard Award-Winning Chefs. Savor elegant meals, masterclasses, tastings, and more at Rancho Bernardo Inn.

2

Unlimited bites, regional craft beers, and animal observations are on the menu for San Diego Zoo Food, Wine & Brew (with live music), a culinary evening in support of the San Diego Wildlife Alliance.

7

Spend An Evening with David Sedaris, humorist, essayist, and best-selling author. Never afraid to point the pen at himself, Sedaris will share old favorites and works in progress in the classic satirical style he’s known for at Jacobs Music Center.

15–17

Say cheese! And toast to the Cheese & Libation Expo. Explore three days of all-you-can eat and drink fare at BRICK, along with boutique shopping and bountiful pairings.

PARTNER CONTENT

10 Years In, Puffer and Malarkey Are Just Getting Started

Elevating an Icon: Inside the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Clu…

16

Stroll the private grounds of several luxurious homes, accompanied by live music, tabletop designs, and outdoor artistry, during the Secret Garden Tour, La Jolla Historical Society‘s flora and fauna fundraiser.

24

Vista recalls its days as a strawberry-producing superpower through its free Strawberry Festival. Wear your berry best fit, watch film screenings, and enter contests for shortcake, pie, and sundae indulging.

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San Diego, CA

City considering cutting funding to resource center for those experiencing homelessness

Published

23 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

City considering cutting funding to resource center for those experiencing homelessness

Last week Mayor Todd Gloria released the budget proposal for the 2027 fiscal budget. Protected homeless services is among his top priorities mentioned in the proposal. However, some of the reductions he’s proposing could impact thousands of San Diegans experiencing homelessness.

Located on 17^th and K Street, the Neil Good Day Center offers an array of services to nearly seven thousand people experiencing homelessness. The services include giving them a place to shower and do laundry, and connecting them to a case manager, among others.

“These are critical services that are helping people off the streets, but really better their lives and their health and their employment situation as well,” Deacon Vargas with Father Joe’s Villages said.

Deacon Jim Vargas heads Father Joe’s Villages, which runs the center. He said through their prevention and diversion strategies, they’ve managed to keep nearly one thousand individuals from falling into homelessness.

“So by helping them pay rent, or helping them with their utilities, or helping them to reunite with family,” Vargas said.

Right now, the city allocates at least $850,000 per year to the Neil Good Day Center, according to Vargas.

But the future and funding for these services are in limbo because of Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget cuts.

“The impact to those whom we’ve been serving the Daily Center would be very severe,” Deacon Vargas said.

In a statement to NBC 7, Mayor Todd Gloria said in part, “We must find more efficient and cost-effective ways to address this crisis and prioritize funding for programs that provide shelter beds and maximize resources to programs that place people into permanent housing.”

Since it’s still at a proposal stage, Deacon Vargas said it’s unclear how the city will decide to move forward.

However, Deacon Vargas said services would be significantly reduced because they would be forced to operate solely on a budget of about half a million dollars they receive from philanthropy.

“The hours would be cut. Some days would be cut. We would have showers that might be impacted because they’re given seven days a week and we’d close two days a week, then the showers would be five days a week, the case management,” Deacon Vargas said.

Deacon Vargas is certain of one thing.

He would like to continue offering services at the Day Center, even if the city goes through with the funding cuts.

“As we work with individuals at the Day Center and at Father Joe’s Villages, the community becomes healthier as a result of it,” Deacon Vargas said.

The budget also recommends additional cuts to homeless services, but does not give specifics as to where those cuts would be.

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