CAGV: About Us

Coalition Against Gun Violence
1187 Coast Village Road, Ste. 1
Santa Barbara, CA 93108-2794
Phone: 805-564-6803
Fax: 805-568-0466
Email: info@sbcoalition.org

About Us

About the Coalition
Inspired by the example of Los Angeles Women Against Gun Violence, a group of Santa Barbara women held their first public meeting in December 1994. We were soon organized as Santa Barbara Women Against Gun Violence, a project of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Within a year, 21 local organizations had become affiliated with us; by late 2001, there were 36 affiliates. Upon our fifth anniversary, in recognition of the increased participation of men and numerous organizations with both men and women members, we changed our name to Coalition Against Gun Violence. Inspired by the increased concerns regarding global terrorism, the Coalition, along with leading gun control organizations, are focused on gun violence as an international issue.

The Coalition provides an ongoing educational program and keeps you up-to-date on gun violence issues through:

E-mail updates on urgent issues
A quarterly newsletter
A website
Discussion groups and public meetings
Multimedia presentations to the community

Historical Background

1994 (fall)	Two Santa Barbarans, members of a Santa Barbara-based peace organization, The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, attended a conference in Los Angeles Cease Fire! Gun Violence the Growing Threat to Health and Safety. The keynote speaker, Dr. Robert McAfee, President of the American Medical Society, spoke of the gun violence epidemic as a health care crisis requiring a public health solution. They were inspired to organize a coalition of individuals and groups to raise awareness in the community of the dangers to society as a whole from gun violence. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation agreed to sponsor them as a project, giving them non-profit status. In December, Ann Reiss Lane, founder of Los Angles Women Against Gun Violence spoke at the first organizing meeting of 40 women at the Santa Barbara Public Library and a new organization was formed: Santa Barbara Women Against Gun Violence (SBWAGV).
1995	SBWAGV received two financial grants for their new quarterly newsletter -- $1,500 from Santa Barbara Foundation and $1,690 from Fund for Santa Barbara. Twenty-two community organizations joined the coalition as partners. SBWAGV sponsored a town meeting on violence and the relationship of easy access to guns, with a panel moderated by Dr. Barbara Lindemann from Santa Barbara City College. They sponsored the first annual dinner at the University Club featuring Dr. Robert McAfee, past president of the American Medical Association as the keynote speaker.
1996	A public meeting featuring Judge Denis de Bellefeuille previewed a slide show on gun violence in American society developed for community education outreach. Dozens of community groups and classrooms viewed the presentation. At a volatile Santa Barbara School Board meeting, the Board declined to adopt the NRA-sponsored Eddie Eagle program into the curriculum after many of our members spoke in protest. SBWAGV sponsored a town meeting on the topic, "Guns, Gangs and Violence." The City Council declined our suggestion they enact ordinances requiring dealers to sell trigger locks with gun purchases and register ammunition sales. The County Board of Supervisors adopted a Mother's Day Resolution to reduce community violence. At our 2nd annual dinner, keynote speaker Police Chief Larry Todd of Los Gatos, California emphasized the menace of concealed weapons. We sponsored a program for children at which they turned in their realistic toy guns and received T-shirts with an emblem, "Say 'No' to Realistic Toy Guns."
1997	SBWAGV sponsored Eric Gorovitz, municipal gun violence ordinance specialist, at a public meeting where he discussed what legal action communities can take regarding gun violence. Our newsletter memorialized Richard Poulis, who was killed by a junk gun in Santa Barbara. We sponsored a series of Cox Cable Public Service Announcements showing the danger of guns in the home. The City Council declined to enact an ordinance banning junk guns, but both Santa Barbara City and County governments, supported by both Chief Breza and Sheriff Thomas, unanimously approved resolutions supporting state legislation to prohibit their sale and manufacture. Our 3rd annual dinner featured Dr. Ellen Talioferro of Physicians for a Violence-Free Society. We grew to 29 partner organizations.
1998	SBWAGV sponsored a panel discussion/town meeting with Santa Barbara Police Chief Breza, Babatunde Folayemi of the Pro Youth Coalition, and two former gang members, to discuss whether our community should ban the sale of junk guns. The City Council postponed action on a junk gun ordinance proposed by SBWAGV, but both the council and the Board of Supervisors affirm support of a state bill addressing the junk gun issue. We co-sponsored Zona Seca's children's art exhibit for their After School Achievement Program. Our 4th annual dinner focused on violence in the media with Dr. Edward Donnerstein, from the University of California at Santa Barbara and director of a three-year, four-university national grant study on media violence.
1999	Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously to adopt a ban on the sale of junk guns. The Board of Supervisor's Human Relations Commission after four contentious public hearings, recommended a similar ban to the county supervisors, who voted 3-2 to review a proposed ordinance. We embarked on a community education project using a video from 20/20, "A World Full of Guns," with an introduction by County Superintendent of Schools Bill Cirone, and STAR (Straight Talk About Risks) material developed for schools by the Center for the Prevention of Handgun Violence. Our 5th annual dinner featured Assemblymember Jack Scott, Chair of the Select Committee on Gun Violence, and introduced by Santa Barbara's Assemblymember Hannah-Beth Jackson. We had grown to include 32 partner organizations in our coalition. We announced to our supporters that as a step toward more accurately reflecting our membership, we were changing our name to Coalition Against Gun Violence (CAGV).
2000	CAGV began to educate the community about the need for gun licensing and registration. In January we hosted a community forum co-sponsored by the Santa Barbara League of Women Voters, and presented the 20/20 video, "A World Full of Guns" which focused on the dangers of guns in the home. In May we held a Garden Reception to build awareness and raise funds to send supporters to Washington, DC for the Million Mom March and ran a newspaper ad on Mother's Day. Our 6th annual dinner speakers were Mary Leigh Blek, President of the MMM and Andrew McGuire, Executive Director of the MMM. As this was a critical election year, we educated the community about the platform positions of both the Democratic and Republican Parties.
2001	CAGV worked to gain support for handgun licensing and registration in the California State Legislature with two bills, AB 35 and SB 52. Through letter-writing and emails, we enlisted supporters to pressure Governor Davis to sign this legislation into law, which he did in October. In April, as a response to the Santee High School tragedy, a superlative professional panel moderated by Bill Cirone, Superintendent Santa Barbara County Education Office discussed "Safety in Santa Barbara Schools" at a town meeting. The S.B. Area Council of PTAs were co-sponsors of the event. We continued to focus on parental and societal responsibility regarding guns and child safety with our expanded 20/20 video presentation, which included a section on teens. We began an educational campaign regarding the international issue of gun violence and the NRA's role in promoting global gun trafficking. To raise awareness regarding the proliferation of small arms and its relation to terrorism, the speaker at our 7th annual dinner was Philip Alpers, a researcher and consultant on international gun policy and a founding member of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). Our Coalition now numbered 36 community organizations.
2002	CAGV emphasized their focus on guns in the home and the implicit danger to children and importance of educating parents. Also part of this education is the incidence of murder-suicide, domestic abuse and whether a gun in the home makes women safer. CAGV also instituted a new program, The Latino Education Project with Lupe Luna-Martinez as co-ordinator, who will focus on educational outreach to Latino families. The speaker at out 8th annual dinner speaker was Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst from the Violence Policy Center and a national authority on sniper rifles and author of Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America.
2003	CAGV held a well-attended community forum on the documentary “Bowling for Columbine” by Michael Moore. The moderator was Jerry Cornfield and included Mayor Marty Blum Councilperson Babatunde Folyemi, Goleta Councilperson Margaret Connell, S.B. Police Officer Hove, Dr. Shane Jimerson from UCSB, mental health expert Patricia Cooper and two high school students. CAGV had a table for each showing of the film at the Riviera for 6 weeks. CAGV instituted the GunArt project which will obtain firearms collected by the S.B. Police Department and recycle them into a metal sculptures and possibly other objects. Our 9th annual dinner speaker was Andres Soto Policy Director for the Trauma Foundation and director of the Pacific Center for Violence Prevention. Andres has also been influential in working with gun control legislation. We had a preview of the (unfinished) Spanish Language Video, a cornerstone of the Latino Project. The actors, with one exception were from City at Peace and received an award for their participation from Mayor Marty Blum and Mexican Consul Gamboa.
2004	CAGV brought the documentary film “Juvies” to Santa Barbara in a well-attending showing at the Marjorie Luke Theater. The film focuses on the draconian sentences given to teens, which are often “enhanced” due to the use or presence of a firearm. A stellar panel discussion was moderated by Judge George Eskin and consisted of the film’s director, Leslie Neale, Judge Frank Ochoa, Juvenile Justice District Attorney Jeff Gittler, Public Defender Karen Atkins, Dr. Aaron Kipnis from Pacifica Graduate Institute, Jody Kaufman from Teen Legal Clinic, Ed Cue from Teen Court and a representative from Los Compadres. We were awarded a grant by The Santa Barbara Channels through the Hutton Foundation, to produce a professional PSA. CAGV was influential in the S.B. City Council’s unanimous support of AB 50, the state bill banning 50 caliber sniper rifles. This bill passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger.
2005	CAGV’s Latino Education Outreach Project completed its educational video. “Armas de Fuego, La Realidad Que Destrosa Nuestras Vidas” “Firearms: The Reality That Destroys our Lives” which was premiered at the prestigious Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February. Lupe Luna-Martinez produced the initial footage using City at Peace youth as actors, along with comments by local officials. Karlos Benavides, documentary filmmaker did the final filming, the editing and English subtitles. Carol Hershey and Toni Wellen are compiling a study guide that will accompany the video, which allows it to be used in other localities. This is the first Spanish language educational video about the problems of guns in the home. CAGV celebrated its 10th anniversary and was honored by Certificates of Recognition from the California State Assembly by both keynote speaker Assemblyman Paul Koretz and Assemblyman Pedro Nava. Along with a long list of law enforcement officials, mayors and other gun control groups, CAGV worked for the passage of ammunition microstamping bill AB 352 to help police solve crimes. Even as population in California has soared, gun sales declined to a near all-time low from a peak of 433,822 in 1993 to 145,355 in 2004 demonstrating that more and more California families do not want handguns in their homes or near their children. Sadly the US Congress passed the immunity bill for the gun industry. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 112 and AB 1288 into law to protect Domestic Violence Victims and AB 86 to make a record of keeping lost and stolen guns permanent. He also approved SB48 that focuses on age requirements for ammunition buyers.
2006	Tragedy arrived in Santa Barbara County when seven murders and a suicide occurred at and near the Goleta Post Office. CAGV hosted a community forum in Goleta in response to the tragedy in order to discuss ways to prevent violence and help the community become more informed about regional resources. City Councilmember Margaret Connell, Rep. Lois Capps’ District Director, Sharon Siegel, Assemblymember Pedro Nava, Sheriff Jim Anderson, Rob Walton and Lynn Cochrane form the S.B. Dept. of Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health, Jenny Benjamin from Family Service Agency and Joni Kelly from the Glendon Association. This year saw other shootings in Pismo Beach, Carpinteria and Santa Barbara. The Dodge City gun shop on Calle Real in Santa Barbara was shut down by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms after a year of careful policing and observation by the S.B. Police Department along with federal agents. The California Legislature failed to pass the much lauded microstamping bill, AB 352, a bill that was heavily supported by law enforcement. This bill will be re-introduced in 2007. SBPD joined other cities in the use of Tasers as part of their “use of force” option. CAGV interviewed Police Chief Sanchez, who stated that when an officer must use a firearm that results in injury or death there are two victims. The use of a Taser is less traumatic than firing a gun. Communities across the state are passing “Lost/Stolen ordinances to combat illegal weapons. SB Mayor Blum, some City Council members and Chief Sanchez favor supporting strong state legislation as our community does not a problem with lack of reporting lost or stolen weapons. CAGV celebrated its 11th Anniversary with keynote speaker Jackson Katz, one of America’s leading anti-sexist male activists. He argued that widespread violence in American society, included all school shootings, needs to be understood as part of an ongoing crisis in masculinity.

CAGV Steering Committee
Toni Wellen		Chair
Ilene Pritikin.		Coordinator
Sissy Taran		Treasurer
Carol Hershey		Recording Secretary
Sue Broidy		E-mail Action Alerts
Lupe Luna-Martinez		Consultant, Latino Education Project
Laura Lynch		Desktop Publisher

Janet Barron		Edith Kay
Kathy Beh		Irene Martinez
Gwat Bhattacharjie		Pat Robertson
Dorie Bullogg Kirtman		Rita Shaw
Eduardo Cue		Chris Silverstein
Alena Donovan		Jean Sturgeon
Zelda Fields		Arline Young
Jean E. Hane

Advisory Committee
William Cirone		Nancy Lessner
Barbie Deutsch		Sheila Lodge
Alicia Dondero, Ph.D.		Michael Purvis
Grace Florez		Susan Rose
Ghita Ginberg		Selma Rubin
Elaine Gordon		Hanne Sonquist
Shane Jimmerson, Ph.D		Sandy Stahl

This website is published by the Coalition Against Gun Violence, a non-profit coalition (a project of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation) united against gun violence and committed to creating a safer community for Santa Barbara County residents. All members volunteer their time, and all funds come from grants and/or donations from interested and dedicated individuals.

CAGV Website
Toni Wellen		Editor-in-Chief
Laura Lynch		Newsletter Publishing
Sue Broidy		Action Alerts