Gavin Newsom’s Gun Controls Threatened by Democrat Infighting

A “high capacity” magazine ban and ammunition background checks are suddenly in jeopardy due to infighting between California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D) and Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom (D).

Both men want to limit all magazines to the same capacity Elliot Rodger used to carry out his May 23, 2014, Santa Barbara attack, and both men want to require ammunition buyers to pass background checks similar to the universal background checks Rodger passed for his firearms. However, they are at odds on how to accomplish it. De León wants to do it via legislation, while Newsom is pushing to secure the gun controls via ballot initiative.

Newsom has been collecting signatures to get the controls on the ballot since October 2015. And according to the Los Angeles Times, “Newsom is close to turning in 600,000 signatures” to have the new gun controls in front of voters in November, “but De León wants him to agree to step aside if the issue can gain traction in the Legislature by June.”

Legislation to secure the new gun controls–including a requirement for permits to purchase ammunition–were part of the massive body of “GunMeggedon” controls that passed out of committee earlier this week. In addition to the new rules on ammunition purchases and the new limits on magazine capacity, controls in GunMeggedon would ban whole new categories of weapons, put in tracking requirements for certain types of ammunition, and expand registration regulations to firearms outside the current registration schema.

Interestingly, Elliot Rodger not only limited himself to ten-round magazines in his Santa Barbara attack and passed universal background checks, but he also registered his firearms with the state, as required by law.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.