Why is California Attorney General Xavier Becerra hiding gun violence data?

Even as he makes his escape from Sacramento back to Washington, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra continues to defy state law and indulge his odd obsession with secrecy.

In the past, Becerra bucked state laws in order to shield the records of bad cops. Now Becerra is refusing to release data on gun violence to state-funded researchers.

“Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office is withholding gun violence data from a state-funded research institution tasked by lawmakers with evaluating California’s firearm regulations and also is directing universities to destroy records the agency previously released,” reported Hannah Wiley of The Sacramento Bee.

In 2016, the California State Legislature passed a law to establish the UC Davis California Firearm Research Center. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was state attorney general at the time, urged lawmakers to support the bill. It requires the DOJ to supply “the data necessary for the center to conduct its research.”

After Becerra became attorney general in 2017, however, the DOJ began to challenge requests for gun violence data. This forced Dr. Garen Wintemute, who directs the center, to request a new law to force Becerra to comply.

State Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, wrote a new law to “clarify and codify” Becerra’s duty to release the data. Becerra’s office subsequently released data related to “red flag” orders that allow courts to temporarily take firearms away from people considered dangerous.

“Wintemute and his team went on to publish a 2019 study that identified 21 instances in which gun violence restraining orders helped prevent mass shootings,” wrote Wiley.

Becerra then returned to his old tricks. His office blocked subsequent requests for data related to studies about the California DOJ’s program to remove illegal guns from the streets. The DOJ also informed Wintemute that it will strip crucial information, like names, from future reports.

In another odd twist, Becerra’s office ordered Wintemute’s research team to end their study and delete all data in their possession.

Becerra’s refusal to respect the law has stalled important studies focused on the state’s efforts to take illegal guns off the street, the role of guns in mass shootings and the effect of gun ownership on suicide risk. Becerra’s office claims he’s protecting “privacy,” but he’s way out of line.

The Legislature, not the attorney general, makes the laws. It’s Becerra’s job to uphold them.

This isn’t the first time Becerra has shrugged off laws. In 2019, he refused to turn over records pertaining to misconduct by California DOJ officers as required by Senate Bill 1421. Becerra claimed the law did not require his office to turn over records from past years. The Bee Editorial Board blasted his decision as a “calculated betrayal of both the public interest and the law.”

California judges eventually forced Becerra to comply with the law.

When a team of reporters with the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley obtained a secret list of police officers with criminal records, Becerra threatened to prosecute them if they didn’t destroy the information. Instead, the journalists pressed ahead with a series called “Criminal Cops.”

Becerra’s latest attempt to violate the law comes as no surprise. His continued violations make him seem more like someone who should be prosecuted rather than someone who should be tasked with prosecuting others.

Why does Becerra behave this way? His decision to defy SB 1421 clearly stemmed from his fear of upsetting the police groups essential to his political future. Is this latest cover-up an attempt to hide data that reflects poorly on his department?”

With Becerra’s confirmation as President Joe Biden’s secretary of Health and Human Services expected as early as this week, it will be up to California’s next AG to release the data as required. Hopefully, Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint someone with an interest in upholding, rather than obstructing, state law.

This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Why is California Attorney General Xavier Becerra hiding gun violence data?."