Public Safety

Gun Control

Every year, our nation witnesses an increasing succession of gun-related acts of violence – shootings in environments we frequent every day. As our nation faces a horrific string of mass gun violence, Americans of all backgrounds are calling for swift and decisive action from Congress to keep our communities safe.

No individual, community, or neighborhood is immune from the threat of gun violence. We cannot afford to do nothing, and we cannot accept these tragedies as commonplace or routine. California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, including a ban on semi-automatic rifles, but without a federal assault weapon ban, loopholes can still be found. In dealing with this growing crisis, the response should be rooted in sound scientific research. That is why Introduced the Gun Violence Prevention Research Act to fund research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to better understand and address the nation’s ongoing gun violence epidemic.

Click here to learn more about my Gun Violence Prevention Research Act.

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

I was proud to support the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into law last Congress, to expand background check requirements, protect victims of domestic violence, and more to keep our schools and communities safe from gun violence.

Click here to learn more about the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

Criminal Justice Reform

California has one of the largest prison populations in the United States, which has led to more funding directed to incarcerate criminals than to teach our children. We must reform our priorities and do more to reduce our recidivism rate and support the successful reintegration of ex-offenders into society. I was proud to introduce the Justice in Forensic Algorithms Act, which ensures that defendants have access to source code and other information necessary to exercise their confrontational and due process rights when algorithms are used to analyze evidence in their case.

Click here to learn more about my Justice in Forensic Algorithms Act.

The federal government spends billions of dollars annually on funding our prisons and I believe there are a few simple reforms, like expanding the use of probation for low-level offenders and reexamining sentencing laws for drug offenders, that can reduce the cost of our prison systems, while maintaining public safety.

I am a strong supporter of necessary policing reforms such as The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Violence Against Women Act

One of my first acts as a Member of Congress was to cosponsor the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. First passed in 1994, and reauthorized in 2000 and 2005, this landmark legislation is critical to our nation’s continuing efforts to combat and reduce instances of domestic violence and sexual assault. I am proud to have voted for the expansion the Violence Against Women Act that ensures further protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community, tribal communities, immigrant women, and includes provisions to make campuses safer for our students.