We cannot stand helpless in the face of gun violence in our community. Half Moon Bay. Monterey Park. Gilroy. VTA. These are places, names, mass shooting scenes, and they are calls to action. Much has been done. California has some of the most robust gun laws in the nation, but funding and resources are necessary to enforce them. And we are proud to say that we are giving law enforcement and our communities much more than our thoughts and prayers. In Santa Clara County, we are proud to announce the creation of an innovative gun violence task force that is the first of its kind in the Bay Area.

This is a joint effort involving law enforcement at every level: federal, state, county and city. Santa Clara County is allocating 11 new positions to this life-saving team. Led by District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office, these investigators, analysts and attorneys will focus on getting guns out of the hands of criminals, the suicidal and children. It will cut off the networks flooding our neighborhoods with illegally trafficked guns. The newly added staff will join agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms as well as Homeland Security and other partners, including the San Jose Police Department and the Santa Clara County Sheriff in this vital mission.

Our county has revolutionized the way law enforcement handles gun threats. We have teamed up with local law enforcement agencies to use California’s red flag law — called a Gun Violence Restraining Order. We have stopped suicides, domestic-violence murders, armed robberies and mass shootings in this county. Our county has used more GVROs than all other Bay Area counties combined. We need to do even more, and we will do more.

As a supervisor, I have been focused on getting guns out of the hands of domestic violence assailants since 2018. Often, they do not just hand them over voluntarily. Getting them is a difficult and dangerous job. It will be a top priority of the task force.

We already have strong commitments from federal, state and local law enforcement, including more than $2.6 million in federal and state grants, as well as equipment, personnel and reimbursement for operational costs from ATF.

The new task force will stop the flow of illegal guns from neighboring states with lax gun laws, chiefly Arizona and Nevada. Driving to one of those states, legally buying a gun with little or no scrutiny, and then driving it back here is frighteningly easy. The team’s analysts will be dedicated to interrupting this deadly supply line and putting the traffickers behind bars.

We also must make it easier for people to dispose of unwanted guns by committing to a series of regularly scheduled buybacks. These have been successful, netting hundreds of unwanted guns each time. Who knows how many lives have been saved?

In the past, these buybacks have occurred irregularly. This month, Supervisor Otto Lee and I will propose that the Board of Supervisors fund and publicize them at regular intervals in the coming year, and that we financially incentivize gun drop-offs at the Sheriff’s Office year-round.

Our county and our state have sacrificed. Now we have spoken.

Our new team is ready for action, ready to make a difference, ready to save lives.