San Diego County Gun Owners’ Statement on Tragic Shooting of Alex Pretti

Like other Second Amendment organizations, we call for transparency, due process, and accountability thorough an unbiased investigation. Too many critical details remain unknown, and too many people are filtering this incident through partisan politics. Due to personal politics, some will focus only on law enforcement’s actions; others will focus only on Mr. Pretti’s actions.  Both Mr. Pretti and the law enforcement officer deserve the unvarnished, unbiased truth.

This tragedy is being used to score political points and demand reactions from gun owners. That framing is dishonest, and it ignores decades of warnings we have made about government overreach.

Much of the rhetoric in media and social media is telling Second Amendment advocates what they should be thinking or doing right now asking why we aren’t saying more. The reality is many gun owners are frustrated. For decades we have warned about federal law enforcement overreach, particularly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The laws ATF have been enforcing and abusing were likely supported by the very same people questioning the reaction of gun owners to the death of Mr. Pretti.  The same illegal immigration advocates screaming about enforcement now, never cared about the same type of overreach gun owners have been warning about for years and were happy to tell us that if we aren’t doing anything illegal, we should simply comply.

Their blind spot on this issue is a problem.

Illegal immigration advocates scream they don’t live in a country where the government asks, “let me see your papers” while gun owners have been living under those conditions for decades.  The papers we must show to exercise our natural rights are concealed carry permits and firearms licenses—documents that, if missing or mishandled, can turn otherwise law-abiding citizens into lifelong felons.  But illegal immigration advocates don’t care about that.

Illegal immigration advocates complain that it is un-American for law enforcement to go door-to-door and ask us, “is this what you voted for?”  But they don’t care when California legislators created California Penal Code § 30000 (and related statues), which established a firearms ownership database that law enforcement can use to conduct compliance checks at gun owners’ homes.  Licensed firearms dealers are subject to warrantless administrative inspections as a condition of licensure—an extraordinary intrusion into privacy and Fourth Amendment protections. But illegal immigration advocates don’t care about that and worse, this is what many of them voted for.

Illegal immigration advocates are aghast that the government takes into custody non-citizens without enough due process, but those same advocates are either silent on the violation of rights that Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVRO) cause or, worse, supportive of their widespread use.  GVROs are ex parte orders with limited due process which means a simple accusation against a gun owner can result in jail and firearms confiscation.  In California, victims of GVROs are then prohibited from carrying for self-defense for 5 years, even if the accusation was false.  Still, none of the immigration advocates took to the streets or stood in the way of law enforcement over that.

We Are Not the Same.

Despite these parallels, gun owners and immigration activists are not the same.  Gun owners do not send volunteers to physically confront law enforcement, nor do we excuse violence under the banner of protest. Instead, we empower gun owners with education and mentorship while we work within the political system.  Gun owners work to get people elected, advocate for public policy improvements, and interact with media to inform people rather than tear them down.

It is reported that Mr. Pretti was a gun owner and a carry permit holder, but that does not absolve him of personal responsibility, nor does it make him immune to following the law.  We will not be your proxy. Do not use the Second Amendment community as a political weapon against ICE/Border Patrol.

Harassment, obstruction, and physical interference with law enforcement are not protected by the First Amendment, and dangerous escalation by illegal immigration protesters must stop. The videos clearly show illegal immigration advocates blocking streets so federal law enforcement cannot pass and they use physical and verbal confrontation against them.  Assemble peacefully, speak freely, use the press to tell your story, and redress your grievances against the government without committing aggressive and illegal acts against the federal government that is enforcing the same immigration laws hated under President Trump, but ignored under Biden and Obama.

Videos released of the shooting from different angles show some details, but a lot of details are missing which prevents accurate conclusions on the legality of what happened.  Only the tragic results are painfully obvious right now.  Current video and reporting suggest Mr. Pretti may have been shot from behind and after being disarmed. If confirmed, those facts would raise serious questions under any use-of-force standard.  If accurate, those facts would make justification under established use-of-force law extremely difficult. The same way our members would face prosecution if we were in this situation, the officer who shot Mr. Pretti should not be immune to the legal system.  Those same videos also show what appears to be obstruction of justice and assault on a law enforcement agent, but those alone are not a blanket excuse for the use of lethal force.

It is hard to imagine additional information that would negate the need for a trial and we call for the Trump Administration to cooperate fully.  

Gun owners are loyal to concepts and principles, not to people or parties.  We are staunch and unapologetic advocates for the right to keep and bear arms.  Groups like National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, and Gun Owners of America have already made non-partisan, principled statements calling for an investigation.  We agree and join them in that request.

We also appreciate those Second Amendment groups’ clear opposition to statements by members of the Trump Administration.  We completely disagree with the way gun owners are being portrayed in statements by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, FBI Director Kash Patel, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Federal Prosecutor Bill Essayli.  Owning and carrying a gun does not make you a criminal and concealed carry permit holders have proven to commit fewer crimes than the general population or law enforcement officers as a group.  In its first year, on Second Amendment issues, the Trump Administration has been inconsistent and often disappointing.  Your administration’s statements in reaction to the shooting of Mr. Pretti that villainize gun owners are wrong.

Gun owners are not the problem. We are part of the solution.

Michael A. Schwartz

Executive Director