A state Senate subcommittee hear testimony Wednesday on media violence’s impact on public safety – an issue the panel’s chair says has arisen from recent months’ gun-violence debates.
The informational hearing of the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee on Gangs, Guns and Drugs is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 10, in Room 113 of the State Capitol.
State Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, who chairs the Public Safety Committee as well as this subcommittee, said the hearing’s goal “is to provide legislators with the latest research on media violence and to present information regarding possible policy solutions from a constitutional perspective.”
“In our consideration of gun safety regulations during the last few months, questions were often raised about the relationship of mental health to gun violence, as well as repeated exposure to media violence on young people and marginalized individuals,” Hancock added.
Among those scheduled to take part are Laramie Taylor, a UC-Davis associate professor of communications who’ll testify on “Media Violence and Public Health;” Derek Burrill, a UC-Riverside associate professor of media and cultural studies who’ll testify on “Video Game Culture;” Dr. Andrew Giammona, medical director and director of the Division of Mental Health and Child Development at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland, who’ll testify on “Media Violence Impact on Child Development;” Ashutosh Bhagwat, a UC-Davis law professor who’ll testify on “Media Violence, Constitutional Law and the First Amendment;” and Colby Zintl, vice president of Common Sense Media.
The hearing comes even as a slew of gun-control measures continue to wend through the Democrat-dominated Legislature toward Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. Some were approved last week by the Assembly Public Safety Committee, including SB 53, to require background checks for ammunition purchases, and SB 293, which could eventually require that all handguns sold in California be “smart guns” that can be used only by their authorized owners.
Perhaps the very most controversial bill – SB 374, which would ban all semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines and retroactively require ownership records for all guns – has been passed by the state Senate but has not yet been heard by any Assembly committees.
