Recent Shootings Spark Gun Control Discussion

Local law enforcement officials call for action

San Diego law enforcement officials addressed the topic of gun control following three weeks of violent shootings throughout Southern California.

On Wednesday night, two sheriff’s deputies were shot in an Encinitas neighborhood during a standoff with a man who barricaded himself inside a residence.

Earlier this month gunman Christopher Dorner killed four people in Southern California, including two officers, prompting a statewide manhunt that ended in a fiery shootout in Big Bear. In a self-released manifesto, Dorner specifically targeted law enforcement officials and said he sought revenge against them.

San Diego County Sheriff William Gore spoke about the recent violence against officers during a press conference Wednesday afternoon, saying it’s time for action.
 
“What we’ve seen in Southern California in the last two to three weeks, at least in my career, has been unprecedented,” he said.

Following these incidents, Gore said he wants to see officials have a discussion about gun control.
 
"I'm tired of going to San Diego County hospitals to see if my deputies are going to live or not,” he said.

Gore also discussed implementing a universal background check, calling it a “common sense” approach to gun-related violence.

“If they want to get guns in the hands of good people we’ve got to know if they’re good people or not,” he said.

Police Chief William Lansdowne also spoke to NBC 7 San Diego and said the city has seen a drastic increase of mental health cases resulting in forceful situations.

"Where we've seen the real change is the rather alarming increase in number of mental health issues we go to in the city of San Diego and across the state now, and many of the cases most recently had mental health as part of the issue,” he said.

Lansdowne said he is doing everything he can to make the job as safe as possible, including support of the president’s gun legislation.

"I’m very supportive of president Obama and the changes he wants to make in this country as it relates to weapons,” he said.

But not all law enforcement members believe gun control is to blame.

Matt Clay, president of the deputy sheriffs’ association, told NBC 7 he does not believe gun control is the solution to the problem, rather more attention on mental health.

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