Skip to content

California Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, Community Partners Conclude “Road Trip for CalVIP” Calling on Governor Newsom For Additional Gun Violence Prevention Funding

5.6.2021

Today, the California chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, concluded their “Road Trip for CalVIP” to urge Governor Newsom to include additional funding for the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) grant program. The road trip lasted two weeks and made stops in over 25 cities across the state. 

“Moms, students, mayors, healthcare workers, community leaders, gun owners and gun violence survivors from across the state have come together to show their support for CalVIP and shared their stories through this awareness project” said Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks. “Thank you to all who participated in this road trip to make our call for action loud and clear. We must fund prove solutions to our state’s gun violence crisis — starting with CalVIP.”

“The banner traveled from San Diego to Sacramento to say ‘enough is enough’ — we are sick and tired of gun violence in our communities,” said Alex Navarro, a volunteer leader with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Gun violence is preventable, and it starts with funding for proven solutions that allow communities to take violence prevention into their own hands. We are proud to be a part of this effort with a coalition of community partners, elected officials and gun violence survivors across the state.”

This morning, volunteers were joined by Asemblymembers Wicks, Bauer Kahan, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Chui Villapudua, McCarthy, Christina Garcia, Gipson and Senators Portantino and Caballero to urge Governor Newsom to take action on CalVIP. 

Last week, 18 mayors, all a part of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, released an open letter calling on Governor Newsom to increase funding for CalVIP to $114 million in this year’s budget, including an ongoing investment of $39 million and an emergency and a one-time augmentation of $75 million to meet the state’s urgent needs, as well as to increase the maximum award level to $4.5 million. Last year, Governor Newsom allocated $9 million for CalVIP funding.

More photos from the “Road Trip for CalVIP:”