Gun violence was the focus of a state legislative hearing Monday.
Those who testified before the State Senate Law and Justice Committee generally agree that domestic violence is the root cause of much of the violence we see in our cities whether directly or with kids learning what they see in their homes.
Yakima Police Chief, Matt Murray, says they use an established, objective measure for identifying people most likely to be involved in gun crimes, which uses a sort of point system based on their history of encounters with violence. Then they involve a community violence prevention organization. “They intervene, and we tell these young people, typically, ‘you have our attention,’” Murray says, “‘We know who you are, and we’re gonna do everything we can to stop you from shooting. And if you continue to commit crime, we will be there. And we are.’” Chief Murray says that intervention works most of the time, but he says it’s intense work that involves the person they’re trying to divert from crime and their family. He says it needs more money to support and expand the work.
One area of concern raised in the hearing was that the state now allows for firearms to be removed from homes involved in domestic violence but that it still faces significant hurdles, including worries by police that they’ll face trouble for taking someone’s guns even though they’re following a law meant to reduce harm.
