Governor Newsom marks 10 years of nation-leading red flag law, new data shows California setting the pace on gun safety

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Mar 19, 2026

Governor Newsom marks 10 years of nation-leading red flag law, new data shows California setting the pace on gun safety

California doubles its use of gun violence restraining orders in three years

What you need to know: Governor Newsom marked the 10-year anniversary of California's nation-leading Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) law, with new data confirming the growing statewide use and impact of the "red flag law" in preventing gun violence and solidifying California's leadership in community safety.

SACRAMENTO – As California continues to lead the charge in preventing gun violence incidents in our state, Governor Gavin Newsom today marked the 10-year anniversary of California's Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) law — a nation-leading policy that empowers families, law enforcement, and communities to act on warning signs and prevent tragedies before they happen. New data released by the Office of Gun Violence Prevention shows the use and impact of GVROs – or also known as red flag laws – is growing statewide, reinforcing California's leadership in protecting its communities.

California's red flag law is about one thing – saving lives. When the warning signs are there, we give families and law enforcement the power to step in before a crisis turns into a catastrophe — and that's exactly the kind of leadership this moment demands. Gun Violence Restraining Orders are one of the most effective tools we have to stop gun violence before it happens. We will continue to lead the way on overall gun safety by taking immediate action to enact smart, common-sense policies that save lives.

Governor Gavin Newsom

New data shows growing impact

Marking the important milestone, Attorney General Rob Bonta earlier this week announced the release of new tools to strengthen GVRO implementation across California, including a model policy for law enforcement, updated legal guidance, a 10-year progress report, and a comprehensive implementation guide.

According to the new report:

• Since 2021, more petitioners have been successfully utilizing the GVRO process in more jurisdictions across California.
• Between 2021 and 2024, the number of longer-term GVROs issued each year in California more than doubled.
• In 2024 alone, California courts issued GVROs against 1,727 individuals found to pose a significant danger of firearm violence toward themselves or others.

At the same time, California continues to outperform the nation on gun safety outcomes. From 2023 to 2025, on a per capita basis, the number of people shot or killed in mass shooting incidents in California was 38 percent lower than the national average.

"I was proud to be an original cosponsor of the bill that established California's Gun Violence Restraining Order law," said Attorney General Bonta. "That legislation was introduced within one week of a mass shooting that devastated the UC Santa Barbara community, committed by a young man who was eligible to purchase firearms despite significant warning signs of dangerousness. The GVRO was championed by law enforcement, violence prevention experts, and especially by grieving parents fighting to create this safety intervention that could have kept their children safe and free from violence. As we mark 10 years since the GVRO first took effect, we are publishing data showing how far we have come, and we are publishing recommendations, model policies, and comprehensive training resources to ensure more jurisdictions have the information and support they need to effectively utilize this process to protect public safety."

These resources are designed to ensure agencies, institutions, and individuals across the state can effectively identify risks, navigate the GVRO process, and intervene when necessary to protect lives.

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Expanding awareness: Reduce the Risk campaign

California's red flag law was created in the wake of a devastating 2014 tragedy near the University of California, Santa Barbara, where six people were killed and fourteen others injured. Despite clear warning signs, the perpetrator was able to legally purchase firearms. In the aftermath, grieving families turned their pain into purpose — advocating for a law that would allow early intervention when credible threats emerge. Their advocacy led directly to the creation of California's GVRO law, ensuring that warning signs no longer go unanswered.

Since taking effect in 2016, California's red flag law has become a national model, with more than 20 states adopting similar laws. This process allows law enforcement, family members, and other eligible individuals to petition a court for a temporary order restricting access to firearms when someone poses a significant risk to themselves or others.

The GVRO law also builds off a bedrock of available protection orders – 9 in total – that prohibit firearm possession for people subject to orders ranging from domestic violence to workplace harassment. In the first three years of their existence, these protection orders were used to prevent 58 cases of threatened mass shootings. There have been significant increases in utilization of GVROs – increasing by 118% – from 2020 to 2023.

To continue emphasizing the valuable resources California provides to protect communities, the Governor's Reduce the Risk Campaign, led by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), is expanding awareness statewide. The campaign recently launched a Local Resource Connector tool, allowing Californians to enter their zip code to find court information and free resources to help file protection orders. The website also now includes more than 700 localized downloadable resources including an infographic on California's protection orders. All resources are available in 14 languages, ensuring California's diverse communities can access the information they need.

"Gun violence prevention starts with giving communities practical tools they can actually use in times of crisis. We know when people understand how these orders work, they use them to intervene early and save lives," said Cal OES Law Enforcement Chief and Reduce the Risk Champions Advisory Councilmember Don O'Keefe. "Expanding awareness and access is critical to ensuring this tool reaches every community that needs it."

"As a young person, safety at school is always on our minds, and too often we see warning signs that people don't know how to act on. Gun Violence Restraining Orders give students, families, and educators a way to step in before a situation escalates," said Reduce the Risk Youth Advisory Council Chair Stephen Baker. "Making sure young people know about this tool means creating safer schools and stronger communities."

Since launching in 2025, the campaign has trained nearly 600 professionals across law enforcement, legal services, healthcare, education, and social services.

A broader commitment to prevention

California leads the nation in comprehensive, life-saving gun safety policies. Year after year, California has been recognized for having the nation's strongest gun safety laws. The latest 2026 Everytown rankings – identifying California as the #1 state in the nation for gun law strength and effectiveness – underscore that leadership, reflecting policies such as universal background checks, safe storage requirements, waiting periods, and a robust system of protection orders.

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Research consistently shows that states with stronger gun safety laws experience lower rates of gun deaths and injuries — reinforcing California's public health focused approach to prevention.

In states where officials have passed gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence. Texas and Florida, which ranked 32nd and 23rd, respectively, in gun law strength, have firearm mortality rates double California's. If the gun death rate in the rest of the U.S. matched California's over the past decade, there would have been nearly 140,000 lives saved and potentially hundreds of thousands fewer gunshot injuries, according to the California Department of Justice's Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

California's leadership on gun safety extends beyond GVROs. The state continues to make historic investments in community safety and violence prevention — including more than $100 million recently awarded to communities across California to expand violence interruption programs, support at-risk individuals, and strengthen local public safety efforts.

California's gun safety approach prioritizes regulating who can access firearms rather than imposing a blanket ban on lawful gun ownership, including universal background checks, red flag laws to temporarily remove guns from people in crisis, and prohibitions for violent offenders and domestic abusers.

Combined with the nation's strongest gun safety laws, these investments have helped California maintain one of the lowest firearm mortality rates in the country.

Learn more about California's gun violence prevention efforts and available resources at GunSafety.ca.gov.

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