Legislative Leadership Award
Senator Joseph Dunn
Joe Dunn, now in his second term representing the 34th Senate District in Orange County, has demonstrated strong leadership in Sacramento for his constituents in the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster.
A strong advocate for children’s hospitals, emergency services, seniors and affordable housing, Senator Dunn has been honored with Legislator of the Year Awards from military veterans, peace officers, firefighters, physicians, children’s hospitals, attorneys, homebuilders, affordable housing advocates, conservationists, mobile home owners and others.
His most recent show of support for law enforcement comes with the authoring of a bill to aid law enforcement investigations by placing unique identifiers on handgun ammunition made or sold in California.
According to Dunn, this bill would give law enforcement investigators another tool by which they could find, and prosecute, violent criminals who use handguns against innocent Californians.
In 2003, almost 73 percent of homicides in California were committed with a handgun. Of these murders, about 45 percent went unsolved.
To solve more of these crimes, SB 357 would require all ammunition made or sold in California to be affixed with a unique identifier, such as a serial number.
When a handgun ammunition purchaser buys bullets, he or she would have to register with a state database maintained by the California Department of Justice at the point of sale. The name of the purchaser and the unique identifier on the bullet would be matched in the database.
Investigators at a crime scene could then look at a spent bullet with a magnifying glass to determine who originally bought the bullets. That information could then be used, along with other evidence gathered by investigators, to solve violent crimes.
Sen. Dunn is also the Legislator’s investigative leader into the price-gouging practices of energy generators that caused the state’s energy crisis. As chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation of the Wholesale Energy Market, Sen. Dunn has provided valuable information to state and federal investigators to pursue criminal and civil indictments against energy traders.
For taking charge and bringing resolution to issues that affect California and its citizens, the Golden Badge Foundation is proud to recognize Sen. Joe Dunn with its Legislator of the Year Award.
