California Lt. Govenor Gavin Newsom (D) is following Michael Bloomberg’s gun control playbook–hypocrisy and all.
Newsom is currently seeking background checks for all ammunition purchases and a statewide ban on the possession on any magazine with larger capacity that the 10-rounds Elliot Rodger used in his 2014 Santa Barbara attack.
Like the former New York mayor, Newsom is steering clear of the people’s elected representatives to accomplish these things. The legislature does not support the gun control measures, so he is seeking them to circumvent them via ballot initiatives.
Moreever, he has made clear his opposition to the people being armed for self-defense yet he–like Bloomberg–lives his life with the benefit of armed security. In fact, Breitbart News previously reported that Newsom has spent millions of taypayer dollars on armed security.
And whereas Bloomberg’s gun control ventures are funded by deep pockets–the Washington state background push was funded to the tune of $11 million–so too the Los Angeles Times reports that Newsom has “a short list” of uber-wealthy donors on whom he may call. Those include Napster co-founder Sean Parker, Gabby Giffords’ Americans for Responsible Solutions, and Bloomberg himself. That means the gun control Newsom wants to heave on Californians could be paid for by quite a bit of out of state money.
The San Jose Mercury News quoted UCLA law professor Adam Winkler as saying that Newsom’s push for a “high capacity” ammunition ban may actually excite enough opposition to make the measure difficult to pass. Winkler said, “It plays into the hands of gun-rights proponents who are always warning that the government is going to come take your guns.”
But much like Bloomberg, Newsom is determined to push for all the gun control he thinks is needed, whether others agree or not. .”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.