California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom described the election of Donald Trump as a “leap backward” for states with stringent gun control laws.
Newsom based his December 8 claim on the fact that Trump supports national reciprocity for concealed carry – a measure which also has the support of a large and growing number of Republican lawmakers, together with the NRA, Gun Owners of America, and the Second Amendment Foundation. There is a united front for national reciprocity but instead of viewing an expansion of armed, law-abiding citizens as a good thing, Newsom laments that national reciprocity would cripple a number of gun control laws in states like California, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey, among others.
Newsom voiced his complaint via Twitter, where he linked to a Los Angeles Times editorial on national reciprocity, writing: “This expansion would put lives at risk & is a giant leap backward for states that have proven smart gun laws work.”
The Times story basically contrasts Utah and California and celebrates the fact that whereas Utah has “632,276” concealed permit holders, California only has “79,834.” The Times admits that California has fewer license holders because of gun control and worries that Utah’s 632,276 permit holders will be able to be armed in California for self-defense, should national reciprocity pass. They also worry that Californians will circumvent the gun control of their own state by getting an out-of-state license in Utah, then return to California where they will be able to carry a handgun for self-defense in a national reciprocity scenario.
In trying to make this sound like a bad thing the Times inadvertently points out that California has a population “33 times” larger than Utah. Think about it–33 times larger yet far less able to legally be armed because of gun control. The result? FBI crime stats for 2015 show that the murder rate in California is approximately 34.5 times higher than in Utah.
So the population of California is 33 times larger than that of Utah but the chances of being killed in California are over 33 times greater. Hmmm… And Newsom thinks allowing more people to be armed for self-defense is a “leap backward”?
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.