California has reached a significant milestone in public safety, recording its lowest rates of firearm-related deaths, suicides, and homicides since the 1960s, according to a comprehensive report released by the state’s Department of Justice on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.
The achievement comes at a critical juncture as state officials express concern about potential funding cuts that could reverse these gains. Attorney General Rob Bonta presented the findings during a press conference, emphasizing both the progress made and the challenges ahead.
The 116-page strategic plan reveals that 2024 marked a particularly successful year for gun violence prevention efforts in California. The data, sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent statistics, shows a dramatic 35 percent reduction in the state’s firearm homicide rate over the past three years.
Perhaps most notably, the report highlights a near 50 percent decrease in firearm homicide rates among young Black and Latino men during the same period. This represents a significant shift in communities that have historically been most affected by gun violence.
The transformation becomes even more striking when examining youth safety statistics. In 2010, children under 18 in California faced higher risks of dying from gunshot wounds compared to children in other states. By 2024, this trend had completely reversed, with children in the rest of the country nearly three times more likely to die from gunshot wounds than those in California.
State officials attribute these improvements to a combination of strict gun safety laws, firearm industry oversight, ghost gun reforms, and substantial investments in community violence intervention programs. These initiatives have focused on breaking cycles of violence, trauma, and retaliation while providing support for domestic violence survivors and implementing protective order programs.
Ed Little, government affairs manager for Californians for Safety and Justice, emphasized that the statistics represent actual lives saved through community investment programs. The impact extends beyond state borders – officials calculate that if the rest of the United States had matched California’s gun death rate over the past decade, approximately 160,000 fewer firearm-related deaths would have occurred nationwide.
However, the report also sounds an alarm about the sustainability of these achievements. Many of the programs responsible for driving this progress now face serious funding challenges at federal, state, and local levels. The attorney general warned that disappearing funding could lead to reduced services and interventions, potentially resulting in increased loss of life.
The strategic plan identifies four critical investment priorities necessary to maintain momentum: community violence intervention and trauma recovery services, domestic violence intervention and victim services, protective order implementation and firearm relinquishment compliance, and trafficking disruption and ghost gun manufacturing prevention.
The report’s creation was mandated by a 2024 law authored by Assembly Member Buffy Wicks, directing the California Department of Justice’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention to develop a comprehensive strategy. This document represents the first of two parts outlining the state’s approach to sustaining and building upon its gun violence reduction efforts.
Holly Joshi, chief of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention, and Krystal LoPilato, policy advocacy director at Everytown for Gun Safety, joined the attorney general at the announcement, underscoring the collaborative nature of the state’s gun violence prevention efforts.
As California celebrates these historic achievements, the focus now shifts to securing the resources necessary to protect and expand upon the progress made, ensuring that the downward trend in gun violence continues for future generations.
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