Redwood City – San Mateo County supervisors on Tuesday extended a program credited with removing 461 pistols, rifles and shotguns from people who pose a threat.
Supervisors pledged $600,000 to a task force charged with removing firearms from people who are prohibited from having them, either because of a civil restraining order or a felony charge. The Gun Relinquishment Task Force will now be funded through November 2026.
“Everyone deserves to live free from the fear of gun violence,” said Supervisor Dave Pine, who sponsored the funding request with Supervisor Noelia Corzo. “California has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. But those laws alone cannot protect vulnerable people from someone with easy access to a gun. This program will save lives.”
The need is urgent, Corzo said as she addressed members of the task force at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
“I’ve been to several domestic violence death review team meetings. They are always difficult and there will always be cases where removing guns was not enough. But I feel really strongly that without this program, and you doing the work, we would have more of those meetings,” Corzo said.
Under California law, anyone who is the subject of a domestic violence restraining order and certain other civil restraining orders must relinquish their firearms by selling them to a licensed dealer or by giving them to law enforcement and certifying to the Court that they have done so.
But a lack of resources in the past meant gun relinquishment laws were unenforced. The funds committed Tuesday will continue to put teeth into the law through a partnership between the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, San Mateo County Superior Court and the San Mateo Police Department, which provides staff to enforce court orders.
Bill Massey, the chief inspector for the District Attorney’s Office, said coordination among the agencies is key.
“The courts report five days a week all of the court orders where people are prohibited,” Massey said. “The DA’s office has engagement with our detectives within 24 hours of the prohibition, often times much sooner than that. The engagement can be anywhere from simply a reminder about turning in your firearms to more aggressive, higher-risk prohibitions where we seek search warrants or court orders.”
The Gun Relinquishment Task Force grew out of a March 2022 forum hosted by Pine and the late Supervisor Don Horsley. The forum, attended by state Attorney General Rob Bonta and other state and local experts, focused on gaps in current laws and practices. “That vision,” Massey said, “led to the residents of San Mateo County becoming safer.”
The task force has facilitated the relinquishment or seizure of 260 pistols, 139 rifles and 62 shotguns since its creation in October 2022.
Corzo thanked Pine and his staff for spearheading efforts to reduce gun violence. This is Pine’s final month in office after serving three terms that make him ineligible to run again.
“This program is intimately tied to the advances we are trying really hard to make in domestic violence prevention and I’m honored to pick up the baton and make sure this program continues – and continues to keep our residents safe,” Corzo said.
Michelle Durand
Chief Communications Officer
mdurand@smcgov.org