A Safer California

Gun Violence Prevention

What is the problem?

California leads the nation when it comes to Gun Violence Prevention laws. That said, we are only as safe as the weakest gun laws of our neighboring states. On average, a Californian is killed every 3 hours by a gun. To put this into perspective, that’s 3,160 lives stolen by guns every year in California. In addition, 6,843 more Californians are wounded each year. 

In California, 68% of female intimate partner homicide victims are killed with a gun and 50% of firearm deaths are suicides. Gun violence is the 3rd-leading cause of death among children under 18 in California, with an average of 247 children and teens dying from guns every year.

What is Mia’s plan?

Mia has a 4 Point Plan to address the issue of gun safety in California:  Funding, Accountability, Decreasing Access and Education (FADE)

Funding: When we invest in high-risk communities through violence intervention and prevention programs, beautification, and other services, gun violence is proven to decrease. Mia will advocate for more funding for proven programs like the CA Violence Intervention & Prevention Grant Program (CalVIP) that have led to a marked decrease in gun violence. Community beautification programs, such as art installations, litter clean-up, greenery projects, and more are shown to build community pride and directly impact rates of violence and crime. Additionally, Mia is supportive of AB299, a bill that will improve access to the Victims Compensation Fund for counseling, funeral expenses, and medical bills for more families of homicide victims and victims of police violence.

Accountability: Accountability matters. Whether an adult gun owner, a licensed dealer, or a manufacturer, gun ownership comes with great responsibility. Mia will work to ensure the gun industry is held accountable for its actions. She will advocate for other gun safety legislation like ghost gun regulation and allow civil suits against manufacturers. 

Decreasing Access: The more we can decrease the number of guns in circulation, the safer our communities will be. Gun buyback programs provide a straightforward, efficient, and easy way to dispose of unwanted guns. Buybacks should be held in neutral locations, such as community centers and houses of worship, rather than at police stations.

Education: Just as gun violence is an everyday occurrence in our society, Mia believes the public must be made aware of gun safety legislation and wants to invest in marketing to make these laws common household knowledge. 

Gun violence is a growing threat that all Californians need to care about. Besides being robbed of lives, the 9,980 shootings that occur each year have a huge economic toll on our state. Together, we can end the epidemic of gun violence.

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More Rehabilitation, Less Incarceration

What is the problem?

The United States of America incarcerates more people than any country in the world. Even though the US only accounts for 4.2% of the world’s population, we represent over 20% of the world’s inmate population.  California has the second-largest prison population in the country. 

A system built exclusively on jails only helps the people making money off of them. More prisons do not mean more public safety. More than anything, incarceration has been used as a political tool to destroy working-class Black and brown communities.

What is Mia’s plan?

Mia knows that we have the solutions to build a criminal justice system that is compassionate, rehabilitative, and just. The first step is addressing our bloated prison population. Right now in California, there are over 40,000 people being held in jail without being convicted or sentenced for a crime. Mia will advocate for the release of non-violent offenders being held pre-trial.

The second step is reversing the destructive effects of the War on Drugs.  Nearly 10% of all people incarcerated are in jail for drug-related offenses.  Mia will build on the work of Prop 47 by supporting a complete review of all War on Drug convictions, the immediate pardoning of those unjustly incarcerated, and judicial reforms to root out white supremacy in our judicial system.  

We must also enable systemic reform of our criminal processing system. From there, Mia will introduce legislation to overhaul our Department of Corrections to make rehabilitative alternatives to incarceration the norm.  By treating many of the root issues of crime, such as substance abuse, poverty, and mental illness, we can end the cycle of harm that leads to crime. Alternatives to incarceration programs have shown to reduce crime and recidivism rates, and improve overall well being. 

Together, we will build a justice system that leads with compassion, prioritizes healing, and makes rehabilitation the norm.

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Reimagining Public Safety

What is the problem?

Our one-size-fits-all approach to public safety does not work. Right now, we rely on the police to address a wide variety of concerns ranging from violent crime to community building. Police are overburdened and not equipped to handle all the complex needs of our communities. The safest communities aren’t those with the most police; the safest communities are those with the most public services. Crime is a response to social conditions: economic insecurity, substance abuse, and more. Our current public safety system leads with a militarized approach instead of a compassionate service-led approach.

What is Mia’s plan?

We can create a system that actually cares for us and keeps us safe. Our public safety plan has to be grounded in addressing what causes crime: a lack of economic and social stability. Strong community services like good schools, food programs, mental health first responders, substance abuse education/support, and community clinics are proven to stop crime before it happens. Despite that, we’ve defunded our community services and funneled it towards police budgets. In Los Angeles, we spend over 50% of our city funds on the LAPD while LAUSD remains one of the most underfunded school districts in the nation. We have to reverse the trend: it’s time we fund our community service programs in a way that actually serves our communities. Imagine if we had a strong public safety net that prevented people from slipping into poverty, substance abuse, and homelessness, closing the loop on the cycle of violence. Imagine if mental health first responders de-escalated and resolved mental health crises instead of police without mental health service training. 

We also have to tackle the very real issue of police violence. In California, nearly 200 people are killed and 250 more people are shot each year by police, with Black Californians being three times more likely to be seriously injured, shot, or killed by the police. In the Assembly, Mia will support legislation that repeals policies that give police departments the ability to limit oversight. Mia will also support legislation to demilitarize the police, enshrine complete civilian control, establish a special prosecutor for police violence, and divert resources to mental health first responders, crisis specialists, and violence interruption specialists.

That is the world we can build if we reimagine public safety. Together we can create systems that actually work for us, not just live with ones that are killing us. These solutions are what “defunding the police” is all about and why Mia supports it.

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Safer Streets for All

What is the problem?

Over 100 pedestrians and on average 36 cyclists are killed in Los Angeles every single year. Even though we have incredible weather, we cannot go outside to enjoy ourselves without potentially being hit by a car. We don’t have to go on living like this. We can exist in a Los Angeles that has 0 pedestrian and cyclist deaths a year. Moving away from a car-centric urban infrastructure, we can encourage healthier and more climate-friendly transit options like walking and biking. We can enjoy a city and a state where it’s preferable and safe to walk and bike any time, anywhere. 

What is Mia’s plan? 

As a State Assemblymember, Mia will fight for legislation to mandate safe and accessible sidewalks up and down the State. Additionally, she will work to pass similar legislation mandating protected bike lanes on all major lanes of traffic. This is part of a larger vision to create more livable communities with streets that have incorporated green spaces, wide sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and high-quality public transit. Models like Beautiful Boulevard in Eagle Rock serve as a powerful example of what healthy streets can look like.

When our cities are more walkable and bikeable, we can ensure a safe, green future for all of us.

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