With one foot already out the door, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra is facing criticism from gun safety advocates, researchers and some lawmakers following his department's move to limit the amount of gun-violence data it makes publicly available.
The state Justice Department, which Becerra leads, is considering a rule change it says is based on privacy concerns that would restrict the release of identifying information related to gun-violence restraining orders.
Garen Wintemute, who directs the state-funded Firearm Violence Research Center at UC Davis, said that information is critical to his research process.
"To find the right records, we have to know who those records might be on," he said. "That information is public. DOJ has that public information aggregated at the statewide level. They are the only source of that information at the statewide level. They know that."
News of the DOJ rule change comes as Becerra prepares to leave office and move to Washington, D.C., where he is likely to soon be confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration.