Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs)
Gun Violence Restraining Orders
    

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Office of Violence Prevention 1000 S. Fremont Ave.,
A9 East, Unit 61,
Alhambra, CA 91803

Phone: 626.293.2610
Email: ovp@ph.lacounty.gov


For data requests, please email: ovpdata@ph.lacounty.gov

For more information about what data is available for request, click here.PDF Icon

  Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs)

Gun Violence Restraining Order Banner

A Gun Violence Restraining Order, or GVRO, is a law that was approved by the State of California in 2016. The GVRO allows family members, household members, some employers, colleagues, teachers, and law enforcement to take action to prevent a person who poses a significant risk of harming themselves or others from having or purchasing a gun, ammunition, or magazine for a specified length of time, between 21 days and five years.

The following individuals can petition the court to temporarily remove guns and ammunition from, and prohibit the purchase of guns and ammunition by, an individual who poses a significant risk of harm to themselves or others:

  • Family Members
  • Household members/roommates
  • Some employers, colleagues, teachers/school staff
  • People involved in a dating relationship
  • People who have a child together
  • Law enforcement

There are 4 main steps to filing for a GVRO:

  1. Fill out the court papers and prepare to file
  2. File the papers with the court
  3. Receive the papers back from the court
  4. Have the GVRO served to the prohibited person

Legal aid organizations that can help you file a GVRO:

  • Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
    Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles seeks to achieve equal justice for people living in poverty across Greater Los Angeles.

  • Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA)
    Through a combination of individual representation, high impact litigation and public policy advocacy, NLSLA combats the immediate and long-lasting effects of poverty and expands access to health, opportunity, and justice in Los Angeles’ diverse neighborhoods.


Find your court here: courts.ca.gov/find-my-court.htm?query=browse_courts


More information about filing a GVRO in LA County:

OVP is here to guide you through the process of getting a GVRO. Contact us at

Email ovp_gvro@ph.lacounty.gov
Phone 833-540-0473

 How do I file a GVRO?

The accompanying video explains the process for obtaining a GVRO.

California's Gun Violence Restraining Order by Speak for Safety (English)


California's Gun Violence Restraining Order by Speak for Safety (Spanish)

 Warning Signs

person consoling friend

Sometimes, we may know someone, or come into contact with people who may be at risk of hurting themselves or others with a gun. You should know what options you have to temporarily remove firearms and prohibit future guns purchases with a GVRO, or by using another legal tool.

Access to a gun can make a temporary condition lethal and tragic.

 

90% of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal, while 4% of those not involving a gun are fatal.1

1 Conner, Andrew, Deborah Azrael, and Matthew Miller. "Suicide case-fatality rates in the United States, 2007 to 2014: a nationwide population-based study." Annals of internal medicine 171.12 (2019): 885-895.

 

Californians living with handgun owners are more than 2 times more likely to die by homicide.2

2 https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2022/04/handguns-homicide-risk.html

 

When someone close to us is going through a challenging time, that person may display certain behavior that can alert us that they may be thinking about hurting themselves or others.

Common Signs of Suicide
  • Giving away personal possessions
  • Talking as if saying goodbye or going away forever
  • Taking steps to tie up loose ends, like organizing personal papers or paying off debts
  • Making or changing a will
  • Collecting and saving pills or buying a weapon
  • Saying things like “Nothing matters anymore,” “You’ll be better off without me”
  • Withdrawing from friends, family, and normal activities
  • Increasing drug or alcohol use
Source: NAMI: Risk of Suicide

Signs of Potential Mass Violence
  • Suddenly withdrawing from friends, family, and activities (including online or via social media)
  • Bullying, especially if targeted towards differences in race, religion, gender or sexual orientation
  • Excessive irritability, lack of patience, or becoming angry quickly
  • Experiencing chronic loneliness or social isolation
  • Expressing persistent thoughts of harming themselves or someone else
  • Making direct threats toward a place, another person, or themselves
  • Recruiting accomplices or audiences for an attack
  • Directly expressing a threat as a plan
  • Cruelty to animals
Source: Sandy Hook Promise: Know the Signs of Gun Violence

If you or someone you care about is showing any of the above signs,
there is help available.

Note: If you are in immediate danger, please contact local law enforcement or dial 911.
Additionally, anyone in emotional crisis can call the National Suicide Hotline
24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255



Resources

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

National Resource to assist anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress through comprehensive online resources or lifeline support

Telephone: 988 (24/7 English | Español)
800-799-4889 (Deaf or Hard of Hearing)
Visit Chat/Website

24/7 Crisis Text Line

Text-based mental health support and crisis intervention

Text:"HOME" to 741741
(Text "HEARME" to 839863 for Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing)

To learn more about mental health resources and support visit: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ovp/SuicidePrevention


 

 The Right Tool For the Right Situation

Like any legal tool, a GVRO is not always going to be the right fit for every person and every circumstance.

Research and community feedback reveal that GVROs can pose the risk of further exposing Black and Brown individuals to increased criminal justice scrutiny or exposure of anyone requesting an order to retaliatory violence.

Due to structural and historical racism, a GVRO could lead to the further criminalization of Black and Brown communities. For example, if the subject of a GVRO has guns that are illegal, they might be arrested, fined, and/or charged for possession of illegal firearms.

The person requesting the GVRO must be named on the order, therefore making their identity known to the subject and potentially putting them at risk for retaliatory violence. Which is why it is important that the right tool is used for the right situation.

Other Legal Tools

 Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions About Gun Violence Restraining Orders

Helpful definitions:

  • Petitioner: A person who files the protective order
  • Subject or Prohibited Person: The person who the protective order is against

 

A GVRO requires that all firearms and ammunition be relinquished by the subject of the order, and prohibits the subject of the order from purchasing any guns or ammunition while the order is in effect.

A GVRO only requires the relinquishment of guns and ammunition; it does not have an impact on any other weapons, such as knives.

A GVRO doesn’t require the subject of the order to stay away from the person requesting the GVRO. Other types of orders can be used if personal protection from the subject of the order is needed.

The GVRO provides an opportunity to remove guns from individuals who would not otherwise be prohibited from possessing firearms. GVROs can be requested by those with a close relationship to the subject of the order – family, household members, co-workers, school staff; people in these relationships are likely to recognize when a person is facing a crisis. Removing a person’s guns while they are dealing with a temporary crisis reduces the risk of lethal behavior and provides them with time to seek help.

Click here to learn more about how to use a GVRO to save lives: https://www.caloes.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/Gun-Safety/resources/english/GVRO_application_explainer-english.pdf

The following individuals can petition the court to temporarily remove guns and ammunition from, and prohibit the purchase of guns and ammunition by, an individual who poses a significant risk of harm to themselves or others:

  • Family Members
  • Household members/roommates
  • Some employers, colleagues, teachers/school staff
  • People involved in a dating relationship
  • People who have a child together
  • Law enforcement

One of the most important differences between a GVRO and a DVRO is that with a GVRO there is no protected party. What this means is that a GVRO can only remove firearms from the situation. A DVRO has more requirements for the subject of the order. For example, the subject of the order may be required stay away from the petitioner or participate in counseling treatment. On the other hand, a GVRO only requires that the subject hands in their firearms and ammunition and/or prevents them from buying firearms and ammunition.

Another difference is the eligibility. Those eligible to file a DVRO is more limited than a GVRO. The goal of a DVRO is to protect victims of domestic violence and so those who can file for one are limited to having some dating relationship to the subject. A GVRO has a broader field for who can file.

It is important to be aware of what different protective orders exist so that you can understand which is the right fit for you and your circumstances.

 GVRO Data

As the data here show, GVROs are not often used in Los Angeles County. In particular, GVROs requested by non-law enforcement petitioners are extremely uncommon. We hope that with an awareness campaign, GVROs will be used more frequently as a valuable tool to protect Los Angeles County residents from gun violence. Please check back in the future as we will continue to share data updates on this page.

  • Between 2016 and 2022, 266 GVROs were issued in LA County.
  • Law enforcement requested 252 (95%) of the GVROs.

Number of Gun Violence Restraining Orders Issued in Los Angeles County by Type of Requestor, 2016-2022

Number of Gun Violence Restraining Orders Issued in Los Angeles County by Type of Requestor, 2016-2022

* Other types of requestors include family members, roommates, dating partners, employers/coworkers, and school employees.

Data Source: California Department of Justice. 2016-2022 Gun Violence Restraining Order Data. Available online: https://openjustice.doj.ca.gov/data. Accessed 8/1/2023.


 Toolkit & Resources


GVRO Flyer Thumbnail

What is a GVRO?

Learn more about GVROs and how to obtain one.

To download, click the language you prefer:

Armenian   Cambodian   Chinese (Simplified)   Chinese (Traditional)  

English   Farsi   Japanese   Korean   Russian   Spanish  

Tagalog   Vietnamese  

Need assistance navigating GVROs? Email ovp_gvro@ph.lacounty.gov or call 833-540-0473.

 For More Information

   
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For more Information about the Gun Violence Prevention Platform, or if you are interested in being involved, please call or email: 626.293.2610

Email: OVP@ph.lacounty.gov

 
Public Health has made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translation. However, no computerized translation is perfect and is not intended to replace traditional translation methods. If questions arise concerning the accuracy of the information, please refer to the English edition of the website, which is the official version.
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