Domestic Violence Law Fails in Assembly

Sacramento Politicians Block Domestic Violence Law, Assemblymember Says

SACRAMENTO — On Tuesday, Rep. Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio, said he stood before the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday to present AB 2701 — a common-sense, bipartisan bill to protect victims of domestic violence.

“And it failed,” he stated bluntly in a letter to constituents

“Let me be clear about what this bill would have done,” Gonzalez wrote. “AB 2701 created a publicly available registry for individuals convicted of the most serious domestic violence offenses — not low-level cases, not victims defending themselves, but the worst offenders. It included strict safeguards to protect victims’ identities and penalties to prevent misuse.”

This was about one thing: Gonzalez said, preventing abuse before it starts and protecting the most vulnerable.

But once again, Capitol politicians refused to act he said.

“I am deeply disappointed,” Gonzalez continued. “This was a common-sense proposal with bipartisan support, and its failure is yet another example of legislators turning their backs on victims and refusing to demand accountability. We cannot let that be the end of the story.”

The correspondence was part of a fund-raising effort. That does not negate the importance of the legislation.

To the best of my recollection, no lawmaker has ever issued a news release or distributed a letter to constituents talking about a legislation that failed.

“I think it’s important to share the reality of Sacramento,” .Gonzalez told Uken Report in a text message.

In 2023, the most recent year of data, California law enforcement agencies fielded more than 160,000 calls related to domestic violence, or 18 calls per hour. This represents a considerable decline from 2001, when police fielded more than 198,000 domestic violence calls, or nearly 23 calls per hour, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

While the statewide number of reported domestic violence incidents has trended downward, they are now more likely to involve weapons, which can include physical objects like knives and firearms as well as assailants’ fists or other body parts (in alignment with how the California Department of Justice counts these incidents, we refer to assaults that weaponize body parts as “aggravated domestic assaults”).