To: Board of Supervisors
From: Diana Becton, District Attorney
Report Title: Proclaiming June 2026 as Gun Violence Awareness Month in Contra Costa County
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Proclaiming June 2026 as Gun Violence Awareness Month in Contra Costa County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact.
BACKGROUND:
See Resolution Text
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
June 2026 will not be recognized as Gun Violence Awareness Month in Contra Costa County.
The Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, California
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IN THE MATTER OF Proclaiming June 2026 as Gun Violence Awareness Month in Contra Costa County:
WHEREAS, June is recognized nationally as Gun Violence Prevention Month, a time to honor the lives lost, support survivors, and galvanize efforts to prevent violence through restorative practices, public policy, collaborative action and community engagement; and
WHEREAS, between 2010 and 2025, fifty per cent of all domestic violence-related homicides and suicides in Contra Costa County involved firearms, and in 2025 alone, five domestic violence-related homicides and suicides involved firearms; and
WHEREAS, children exposed to abuse, neglect, and violence in the home are more likely to experience gun-related harm; and
WHEREAS, the Victim Witness Advocates at the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office have supported approximately 552 survivors and witnesses of unsolved shootings since June of 2025; and
WHEREAS, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office's Major Crimes Task Force has sought to prevent gun violence by seizing approximately 49 firearms since October of 2024; and
WHEREAS, through the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office has collaborated with the courts, probation and law enforcement to monitor compliance with firearm relinquishment provisions in restraining orders, resulting in the relinquishment of 55 guns in 2025 without significant use of law enforcement resources and has trained over 100 law enforcement officers on relinquishment laws and procedures; and
WHEREAS, through the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, the Family Justice Center in collaboration with STAND! For Families Free of Violence, The Latina Center, Bay Area Legal Aid, and DeafHope, have raised awareness about firearm safety in domestic violence situations through staysafecontracosta.org resulting in 5,500 website visits to date; and
WHEREAS, Contra Costa Health’s Violence Prevention Program addresses violence as a public health crisis through five evidence based pillars-upstream youth mentorship by Violence Prevention Advisors, street outreach and intervention by credible messengers to de-escalate conflicts and interrupt retaliation, trauma informed behavioral health services to individuals and families, place-based community healing strategies that restore safety and belonging, and workforce development-and has developed a Gun Violence Reduction Strategic Plan that outlines the County’s coordinated public health approach to gun violence reduction and anchors partnerships with the District Attorney’s Office, the Family Justice Center, the Alliance to End Abuse, and the cities of Antioch and Pittsburg in a unified regional effort;
WHEREAS, the City of Antioch has supported Peace Walks and other community engagement efforts that promote healing, unity, awareness, and nonviolent solutions, and continues to invest in community violence intervention and prevention efforts through California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) funding, supporting evidence-based strategies focused on reducing gun violence, interrupting cycles of retaliation, and increasing safety in disproportionately impacted neighborhoods; resulting in a 58% reduction in gun-related deaths from 12 in 2024 to 5 in 2025; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: that the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors urges all residents to actively participate in the efforts to end gun violence in our homes, our schools, our workplaces, and in our communities and does hereby proclaim June 2026 as “Gun Violence Awareness Month” because one life taken is too many.