Individuals who have been convicted of some alcohol-related crimes are four to five times more likely to commit violent or gun-related crimes later on, according to a study published in 2017 by UC Davis. Now, some state legislators are hoping to keep guns away from those who have been convicted of a few crimes involving alcohol.
“The evidence is really overwhelming,” said state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), who recently introduced a bill that would prohibit people with certain prior alcohol-related convictions from owning firearms. “We’re talking four or five times more likely. Those are staggering numbers.”
Senate Bill 55, which Jackson introduced on Dec. 12, 2018, would make it illegal for people who rack up multiple driving under the influence convictions in a 3-year timespan to own firearms for 10 years. A vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated conviction would lead to the same decade-long restriction.
California law already prohibits people convicted of some crimes from possessing and owning firearms, either permanently or for a 10-year period. Jackson said her bill would simply add some alcohol-related crimes to the list.
The bill, she said, was inspired by the UC Davis study.
The study, which was conducted through the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program, examined the association between prior convictions for alcohol-related crimes, chiefly driving under the influence, and risk of subsequent arrest.
Researchers followed 4,066 individuals who purchased handguns in California in 1977, and found that by 1991, nearly 33 percent of those with prior alcohol-related convictions had been arrested for a violent or firearm-related crime. Only about 6 percent of those with no prior criminal history had been arrested for the same reasons. About 16 percent of those who had prior alcohol-related convictions were later arrested for murder, rape, robbery or aggravated assault, compared to only 3 percent of those without prior convictions.
The data, Jackson said, shows a clear correlation between alcohol and gun violence. Although it isn’t clear what exactly is causing the connection, Jackson said, “I think it has to do with bad judgement” and a lack of self-control.
“These are not law-abiding citizens,” Jackson said, adding that keeping firearms away from individuals who are likely to use them to harm innocent people just makes sense.
Although her bill is still in its earliest stages, Jackson said that she expects it to garner support from both sides of the isle. While past efforts from Democrats to address the nation’s unique gun violence issues have been met with questions of evidence from Republicans, Jackson said this bill is backed by research.
“You can’t argue with the data,” Jackson said.
John Dwyer, vice president of the Santa Maria Gun Club, said that while keeping firearms away from people who’ve committed violent crimes makes sense, this bill would not be doing that, and would be a step in the wrong direction.
Those who have convictions involving domestic violence, he said, or have committed numerous other violent crimes are proven to be violent, and could use any number of means to harm other people, he said.
But drunk driving isn’t a violent crime, and he said that crime doesn’t involve guns at all.
“That person should be banned from driving a car,” Dwyer said, “but what the heck does owning a gun have to do with the fact that he got drunk and hit a person with a car?”
Alcohol, and intoxication in general, is also a factor in a number of other kinds of crimes, according to Kelly Hoover, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Hoover said that a majority of crimes the Sheriff’s Office responds to involve alcohol or drug consumption.
Sgt. Paul Flores of the Santa Maria Police Department said that “anecdotally” the situation is similar in Santa Maria itself. Substance abuse, alcohol, and drugs, often play a role in the crimes committed around town, whether it’s domestic violence, child abuse, or a firearm-related incident.
Still, more than 3,000 Californians were killed by guns in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the U.S. overall, the number was more than 38,000 and data on gun violence and its causes are extremely limited.
The UC Davis study was one of the first of its kind, and Sen. Jackson said more are coming.
“I think we’ll probably see more answers to who and why with respect to gun violence as more of this research comes forward,” she said. “It’s my hope that we will respond appropriately.”
Staff Writer Kasey Bubnash can be reached at kbubnash@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 3-10, 2019.