‘We’re up against a gun epidemic.’ Gavin Newsom links rise in homicides to firearm sales
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced a crackdown on retail theft rings a day after high-profile California crime victims slammed his criminal justice policies.
Speaking at a Los Angeles press conference where he was flanked by law enforcement leaders, Newsom also acknowledged recent crime trends showing a surge in homicides over the past year. The number of homicides in California climbed by 31% from 2019 to 2020, according to the attorney general’s office.
California recorded 2,202 homicides last year, up from 1,679 in 2019, according to the state agency.
Newsom said that he and other policymakers are working to address the rise in violence.
“The bottom line at the end of the day, as members of the public, you expect us to resolve, to address these issues,” Newsom said.
To that end, Newsom signed a law that temporarily makes organized retail theft a crime and empowers the California Highway Patrol to target theft rings with a special task force.
Overall, crime is down substantially from the 1990s, and the prison population likewise has fallen. The recent increase in homicides mirrors a nationwide trend.
It also coincides with a dramatic increase in California gun sales, according to the attorney general’s office. Handgun sales in 2020 also surged a record 65.5%, and long gun sales increased 45.9%, an increase second only to 2016. In total, 686,435 hand gun sales and 480,401 long gun sales were documented last year.
“We’re up against a gun epidemic,” Newsom said.
Since taking office Newsom generally has emphasized criminal justice reform. He placed a moratorium on the death penalty, announced plans to close two state prisons and expedited the release of incarcerated people during the coronavirus pandemic.
His critics in the recall race have sought to characterize those policies as failing and soft on crime.
Jessica Millan Patterson, chair of the California Republican Party, said in a statement, “Instead of putting forward solutions, Newsom prioritized releasing violent criminals from prison while Democrat-run cities slashed police funding. Now with a recall looming, he claims it’s time to get serious. Voters can see through his photo ops and on Sept. 14 will replace him with a leader who is committed to returning safety to our communities.”
For his part Wednesday, Newsom redoubled his commitment to the approach that the state is taking to address crime trends.
“We’re not going back to the way things were in the ‘80s and ‘90s, at least not while I’m here,” Newsom said.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 2:49 PM with the headline "‘We’re up against a gun epidemic.’ Gavin Newsom links rise in homicides to firearm sales."