Assembly members Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D) and Sen. Aisha Wahab (D) proposed a joint resolution Monday to bring the assembly together. The action is in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) proposal in June for a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution enshrining gun control laws currently on the books in the Golden State.
The proposed amendment would raise the minimum purchase age for all firearms to 21, ban “assault weapons,” establish a waiting period for weapons transactions and mandate universal background checks.
All of this, of course, is under the guise of addressing “gun violence.”
The irony is that California already has these strict measures in place and is still besieged by violent crime. This one state accounts for 17% of firearms deaths in the U.S. annually.
Newsom dubbed the proposal the “Right to Safety Amendment.”
The process for adding a constitutional amendment is arduous. In fact, none of the 27 amendments in existence came through the convention process. Two-thirds of states must approve of similar constitutional convention legislation for the proposal to move forward.
Then the amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures or three-fourths of conventions assembled in each state for the process.
The proposal process may also begin with a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress.
According to the Sacramento Bee, constitutional scholars have deemed Newsom’s effort “essentially impossible.”
In other words, it is grandstanding. Lawmakers know quite well that it does not and will not have enough traction to get off the ground. There is not the slightest chance that support exists to ratify this proposed 28th Amendment — it is a pipe dream by those who vehemently oppose gun rights.
But politicians have a base of support they must cater to, and this proposal apparently does that. It is nothing more.
