Pierce's Pledge: No Child Should Lose Their Life During a Family Law Case-How We Can Help By Requiring All Of Our Clients to Surrender Their Firearms

In January 2021, 9 year old Pierce Hu was killed by his father before his father turned the gun on himself. Pierce's parents were in the middle of a dispute over Pierce's health care in the San Francisco Superior Court when this tragedy happened. 

I have been practicing family law for over 20 years and this horrific event shook me to my core personally and professionally. I was lucky enough to have known Pierce during his short time on this earth. I realized that it is not enough to require family law litigants to surrender their firearms when there is a domestic violence restraining order. I now require  as part of my engagement agreement that all of my clients surrender possession of their firearms during the family law case. 

Sadly, the circumstances of Pierce's passing is not an isolated event. In late February 2022, a Sacramento man shot and killed his three young daughters during a court-ordered supervised visit at a church that their mother had asked a judge not to approve.

In June 2022, a 6 year old boy and his mother were killed at their Baldwin Park home in a shooting that police say was connected to a domestic dispute with her boyfriend.

Since 2008, there have been 851 known cases in the U.S. of children killed by a parent or guardian during a divorce or separation, according to the Center for Judicial Excellence, a nonprofit organization in San Rafael, California that advocates for children involved in the family court system.

A 2019 report from Sacramento County’s Domestic Violence Death Review Team flagged the issue saying “proactive enforcement” of firearm relinquishment orders was "currently nonexistent."  

As members of the family law community, we can make a difference. Please join me in signing this Pierce's Pledge Petition which commits us to requiring all clients to relinquish their firearms during the family law case as part of our representation. Clients can voluntarily surrender their firearms to the local police or sheriff station or to private gun storage facilities. 

MONICA MAZZEI

CHAIR, Family Law Practice

BUCHALTER, LLP

425 Market Street
Suite 2900
San Francisco, CA 94105

415-227-0900