California Democrats reintroduced legislation on the day of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) inauguration in hopes of achieving a one-gun-a-month purchase limit for Californians.
Lawmakers passed the legislation under Gov. Jerry Brown (D), but Brown vetoed the measure.
CNBC reports that Newsom has made clear he is open to controls that Brown did not support. During his inauguration speech Newsom said, “Make no mistake, there are powerful forces arrayed against us. Not just politicians in Washington – but drug companies that gouge Californians with sky-high prices. A gun lobby willing to sacrifice the lives of our children to line their pockets.”
Newsom reacted to the November 7, 2018, shooting at the Thousands Oaks Borderline Bar & Grill by suggesting more gun control is needed in California. He said, “I’ve been as transparent on gun issues as any candidate for higher office in decades. I think we can even do more and better.”
The problem with Newsom’s push is that there were already myriad gun controls in place to keep such an attack from happening, and all of those controls failed.
For example, California has universal background checks, a 10-day waiting period on gun purchases, firearm registration requirements, firearm confiscation laws, a requirement that residents get a gun safety certificate from the state before buying a gun, an “assault weapons” ban, a “good cause” requirement for concealed carry permit issuance, and controls on ammunition sales.
Moreover, for the few people who manage to get a concealed carry permit, even they are barred from carrying a gun for self-defense into a business like the Borderline Bar & Grill. For this reason, the site of the Borderline Bar & Grill shooting was a gun-free zone, so no one could shoot back in self-defense when the attacker entered with a legally purchased handgun and began shooting.
Gov. Newsom believes more gun laws are part of the solution.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.