For Representative Salud Carbajal, preventing gun violence is a deeply personal issue. As a child, Representative Carbajal’s sister used their father’s gun to take her own life, and in 2014, a gunman rocked his community by taking the lives of six individuals and injuring 14 others near the campus of UC Santa Barbara. These events continue to shape Representative Carbajal’s legislative agenda today, and the largely avoidable nature of both inspired him to do everything possible to keep guns away from those in crisis. 

In Congress, Representative Carbajal has made good on this mission with the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, legislation that created federal grants to help incentivize states to implement extreme risk protection order laws, which give family members and law enforcement officials the ability to petition courts to remove firearms from those who pose a danger to themselves or others. This lifesaving legislation was included in the landmark Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, which became the first piece of gun safety legislation signed into law in nearly 30 years. Throughout his tenure in the House, Representative Carbajal has also helped pass commonsense legislation like the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and has cosponsored legislation to get firearms out of the hands of individuals who have a history of hate-related violence and to reform policing practices.

It’s clear that having legislators who can speak to the human toll of gun violence from a personal place is powerful, and we must work to reelect Representative Salud Carbajal in 2024. With him in office, Californians can count on their representative to always prioritize public safety, and we know he will not stop working to find solutions until every child can live in a world free from gun violence.

We are proud to endorse Salud Carbajal for the US House of Representatives.