Senator Roth’s Landmark 2024 Gun Violence Prevention Act Signed by Governor

SACRAMENTO  — The 2024 Gun Violence Prevention Act, Senate Bill (SB) 902, by Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside), has been signed by the Governor.

“Our Senate Bill 902 furthers our state’s gun violence prevention efforts by ensuring that people with a history of violence are unable to access firearms,” said Roth “Animal cruelty is a known predictor of current and future violence, including crimes of assault, rape, murder, arson, domestic violence, and abuse of children. Our Gun Violence Prevention Act prohibits individuals convicted of extreme misdemeanor animal cruelty from possessing firearms for a period of 10 years.”

SB 902 introduced by Roth and Senator Anthony Portantino (D- Burbank) imposes a 10-year firearms prohibition on those convicted of a misdemeanor for extreme acts of animal cruelty, including maliciously and intentionally maiming, mutilating, torturing or wounding an animal, or maliciously or intentionally killing an animal, joining the other 50 misdemeanor charges that result in the same prohibition.

“There is a direct link between acts of cruelty to animals and violence toward humans, including child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, and other violent behavior. A 2017 study showed that 89 percent of women who had companion animals during an abusive relationship reported that their animals were threatened, harmed, or killed by their abusive partner. In one study of families under investigation for suspected child abuse, researchers found that pet abuse had occurred in 88 percent of the families under supervision for physical abuse of their children,” wrote Lindsay Nichols, Policy Director of GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention organization founded by former Representative Gabrielle Giffords.