Democrat Lawmaker and Gavin Newsom Compete to See Who Gets to Limit Second Amendment

Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom is criticizing state Senator Kevin de León’s (D-24th) current gun control push, suggesting it is a “self-serving” attempt to undercut the gun controls Newsom wants to secure via ballot initiative in November.

Put simply, Newsom is upset that de León may use legislation to secure gun control before the ballot initiative even comes up.

According to The Sacremento Bee, de León has been “urging Newsom to pull his initiative if the legislation advances,” but Newsom has refused to agree. Time is getting short; Newsom only has until June 30 to pull the initiative if he plans to do so.

There is a core difference between the way the two sets of gun control curtail Second Amendment rights. That difference is evident in the way ammunition background checks would be performed. “Newsom’s version would vet prospective ammunition buyers in advance through Department of Justice background checks. De León’s would use an existing database of people prohibited from owning guns at the point of sale.” This means Newsom’s version would open the door to licensing law-abiding individuals, who will be allowed to buy ammo, while de León’s will be based on a background check conducted at point of each sale.

Dan Reeves, de León’s chief of staff, describes the background check at point of sale as “easier to implement” and “less burdensome.” Newsom describes de León’s gun control push as “sickeningly cynical.”

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.