The rumored presidential hopeful on Thursday attempted to make a splash by proposing that a series of regulations that are largely in place in California become the law of the land.
To summarize, this 28th Amendment would enshrine four highly controversial gun control measures. The federal minimum age for purchasing a weapon would increase from 18 to 21. Further mandatory background checks would be required. All gun purchases would face a mandatory waiting period. And citizens would be prohibited from purchasing so-called “assault weapons.”
Incredibly, Newsom called his proposed amendment a collection of “common sense measures that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners support — while leaving the Second Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition.”
Put aside the ridiculous claim that these unconstitutional measures are supported across all four groups he listed. That gun owners would fall in line with this proposal is laughable.
How does Newsom believe that these sweeping measures do not “infringe” on the Second Amendment?
The California governor chastised Congress for “inaction,” though through one process the upper and lower chambers are constitutionally required to propose the amendment through a joint resolution passed by a two-thirds majority for it to proceed.
Congress may also call for a convention of states after applications are received from two-thirds of state legislatures. And then, of course, the amendment must be approved by an overwhelming three-fourths of the states.
That, as any first week civics student knows, is not going to happen.
In a statement, the National Rifle Association roundly criticized the governor’s doomed proposal. “Newsom’s latest publicity stunt once again shows that his unhinged contempt for the right to self-defense has no bounds.”
The organization told Fox News that “California is a beacon for violence because of Newsom’s embrace of policies that champion the criminal and penalize the law-abiding.”
And that, the NRA concluded, is why the majority of U.S. citizens will reject such an outlandish proposition.
Newsom declared that California will be the first state to call a convention to support his proposal. He said a joint resolution is being introduced by California State Senator Aisha Wahab and Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer. He pledged to work with so-called “grassroots supporters” and a national coalition of gun rights opponents for passage.
That passage requires, besides California, for 33 other states to act to bring together a convention. When more than half of states now boast the freedom of constitutional carry, how likely is it that they will then choose to enshrine in the Constitution an amendment severely curtailing Second Amendment rights?
It is not.
As the NRA stated, this is nothing more than a publicity stunt. With a presidential election coming next year, it is posturing in its purest form. Newsom knows there is zero chance that his proposed amendment will gain any meaningful traction.
It did, however, put the California governor back in the headlines ahead of an election year.
It also attempted to draw criticism away from the dramatic demise of two formerly great Golden State cities. San Francisco in particular has spiraled downwards under the weight of criminality, homelessness, and drug abuse.
For many self-serving politicians, guns make an easy scapegoat for their leadership failures. This proposed 28th Amendment is simply another effort to deflect attention from a crisis of his own making. It has no chance of getting off the ground, and no one knows that more than Newsom.
It is all for show.
