Caucus: Soft on Crime Policies Eblast

Good afternoon,

Years of soft-on-crime policies have increased violent crime in our cities.
 
Did you know that a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of three years, yet most offenders serve less than half that time? That’s because of California’s woefully light penalty for this serious offense forcing many district attorneys to work with the U.S. Attorney’s office to prosecute these felons in federal courts, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
 
Tragically, the man who killed the two El Monte police officers on June 14 was a felon who was just convicted in 2021 of possessing a hand gun. His sentence: 20 days in jail and 2 years’ probation – a slap on the wrist for a felon carrying a gun illegally. Furthermore, The alleged killers in the Sacramento gang shooting on April 3 that left 6 people dead and 12 wounded also had past convictions that included being felons in possession of a firearm.
 
California has the strictest gun laws in the country- but not for felons. Republicans have consistently introduced bills to increase these penalties but again and again, these bills have been voted down in Committee.
 
In recent years our criminal justice laws have been weakened further by accelerated early release credits that result in criminals being released too soon only to reoffend and useless DAs that are not prosecuting criminals as they should. It’s time we hold violent criminals accountable for these serious crimes to ensure that our communities are safe.
 
It’s an honor to represent you.