A new survey released on Wednesday revealed that two-thirds of California voters rank gun control measures far ahead of the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. The poll was conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Jan. 13-20 and surveyed 1,539 adults in the state.
Respondents were asked, “What do you think is more important (1) to protect the rights of Americans to own guns, [or] (2) to control gun ownership?”
Results tilted far in favor of more restrictions on firearms. By an overwhelming 65% to 34% majority, respondents declared it more pressing to “control gun ownership” than to “protect the rights of Americans to own guns.” Another one percent did not have an opinion.
The results showed that gun control is favored by virtually every measurable demographic. Geographically, in the metropolitan Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, a full 74% of surveyed voters supported gun control.
The margin was closer in the mostly rural Central Valley, but the result was still 51% to 48% in favor of gun control over gun rights.
The PPIC data showed that the trend in the Golden State is now strongly in favor of more weapons restrictions. A decade ago, opinions were split virtually down the middle. Results in 2013 showed that 49% supported more gun control while 48% leaned towards gun rights.
Ironically, the state that is ranked number one for stringency in gun control statutes is also first in “active shooter incidents,” according to Breitbart News. This should not be surprising as across the nation the areas with the most burdensome firearms regulations are those that suffer the most violent crime.
Efforts in the statehouse to further strip constitutional freedoms away from law-abiding gun owners are currently focused on concealed carry rights. Lawmakers after recent incidents turned their attention to concealed carry permit holders, on targeting the age in which concealed carry is permitted, and where those able to exercise concealed carry rights may possess weapons for self-defense.
California’s concealed carry laws were largely rendered unenforceable by last summer’s Bruen decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. Now the state is busily crafting new restrictions that can pass constitutional muster — whether they are effective in addressing violent crime or not.
State Sen. Anthony Portantino, the new bill’s author, appeared with Gov. Gavin Newsom last week for a major press conference by gun control zealots. He asserted that the bill’s sponsors “want this to withstand the legal challenge that’s sure to come…The strongest possible bill but also constitutionally sound.”
The governor also did not pass up the opportunity to slam the Second Amendment.
Newsom said in a Wednesday statement that it is only in this country that we see the current level of gun violence “that destroys our communities and our sense of safety and belonging.” He added that the state is doubling down on gun safety and toughening its public carry law.
What he failed to acknowledge is what is painfully obvious to even the most casual observer. The U.S. hardly has a gun problem, but rather is beset by a violent criminal problem. California’s misguided obsession with concealed carry does nothing except rip away the ability for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves.
Face it. There is not one single violent criminal who will give up their guns because someone in the governor’s mansion said they must. Measures such as these only work to make the general public more defenseless in the face of the growing threat.
