Watch Out For The Newsom Amendment!
California Governor Wants To Spread The "Love"
About six months ago, anti-gun California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his proposal for a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and it quickly became known as the “Gun Control Amendment,” designed to gut the Second Amendment.
He and his followers contend this is not aimed at emasculating the right to keep and bear arms — turning that right into a government-regulated privilege — and they are lying through their teeth. They’re counting on most people to be stupid enough to believe the sales pitch.
No Rights Allowed
Importantly, Newsom’s proposal strips away Second Amendment rights from young adults in the 18- to 20-year age group, raising the minimum age for purchasing a firearm to 21. It would also:
• Ban so-called “assault rifles” for private citizens, which could mean prohibiting every semi-auto rifle, regardless of caliber, capable of accepting magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
• Create a mandatory waiting period for all gun purchases. This could be anywhere from five to seven or even 10 business days, with no maximum amount of time a sale could be put on hold, thus preventing completion of a transaction.
• Mandate so-called “universal background checks,” which has been a bogus idea sold to the public as a way to prevent gun sales to criminals. It is widely known criminals do not buy their guns at retail from licensed firearms dealers, thus bypassing background check requirements entirely.
• Enable Congress, states and even local governments to enact what Newsom and the gun prohibition lobby call “common-sense gun safety laws,” which are never clearly defined. This would effectively nullify all 44 existing state preemption laws that prevent local municipalities from creating their own restrictive gun control laws.
In order for this proposed amendment to be enacted, it will require ratification by two-thirds of the states, which is where the “constitutional convention” too many people seem to want would come into play. Three words of advice: Don’t Do It.
A Bad Idea
Far too many conservatives and gun owners think holding a constitutional convention would allow the country to put anti-gunners out of our misery. Such a convention puts everything on the table, including the Second Amendment. The gun ban crowd salivates at the mere mention of a constitutional convention as it would afford them the opportunity to put a monkey wrench to the Bill of Rights, particularly the First and Second amendments.
Everybody seemed to have a good chuckle when Newsom unveiled his proposal. People thought it was a publicity stunt and pundits gave it absolutely no chance of adoption. Then California’s far-left Democrat lawmakers in Sacramento introduced a resolution supporting the notion. What had been a smile suddenly became a poker face or a frown.
Even if Newsom’s proposal does not gain the necessary traction this time, it provides gun owners with an accurate picture of just what he and his fellow anti-gunners are capable of attempting — and there is no guarantee he won’t be back with this proposal of something worse. Never happen, you say? Can’t take him seriously, you contend?
Stop — Right — There.
How many other Democrat-dominated state legislatures — for instance Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota and Illinois — have enough anti-gun ideologues in their ranks to push this idea? Answer: All of them. An idea that seemed nutty upon announcement just might pick up some traction among lawmakers with a visceral hatred of guns. If it’s going to happen, we will know soon.
January is the month most state legislatures convene. This column has said it before and repeats it now: If you want to prevent bad gun laws, you need to become an activist right now and elect good people. This is an election year and Joe Biden made it clear last summer gun control will be a main feature of his 2024 campaign. While the president has historically been “factually challenged,” you can bet your gun rights he’s telling the truth about this.
Speaking Of Elections …
January will see presidential campaigns gaining momentum or displaying the early signs of political fatigue. Don’t forget to keep an eye on other federal and state elections because this is the month when candidates will be floating “trial balloon” proposals to see which ones show sparks that can later become campaign issues.
If you don’t think state lawmakers and members of Congress don’t use their winter-month sessions to launch campaign efforts, you must have skipped high school Civics and Political Science classes. Politicians for whom gun control — or “gun reform” and “gun safety” — is almost a religion will be introducing legislation this month. It would be no great stretch for them to promote or even incorporate Newsom’s 28th Amendment scheme into their own agendas.
Pay attention because the legislature is in session. Ideas fitting comfortably with Newsom’s nonsense might include:
• A training requirement before any firearm may be purchased;
• Including a character reference requirement for obtaining or renewing a concealed carry license, even if you’ve had one for years;
• Allowing access to medical/mental health records for gun purchases or carry licenses;
• Permit-to-purchase requirements.
What can you do to stop this threat in its tracks, should it show up at a state capitol near you? Burn up the phone lines to your state lawmakers.
Write letters. Send emails. Show up at their offices. Pay attention to any attempts to push this idea — that is, take names, find out which districts these lawmakers represent — and make the proponents regret it. Support candidates to run against these people and work toward booting them out in November.
The United States and all of its individual 50 states have constitutions. They are the legal documents, which protect rights and hold government in check; at least, that’s the way it is supposed to work. We may not have a perfect Constitution, but it is better than anybody else’s, so as activists determined to protect every word in those documents, put some energy into it.
Keep your eyes peeled for Newsom to push his proposal. In a statement last summer, the California governor said, “In this country, we do have the power to change things. That power is written into the Constitution and today we’re using it to end America’s gun violence crisis.”
People who support this proposed 28th Amendment do want to “change things,” but only for the worse and only to perpetuate their own power. It won’t end gun-related violent crime and they know it. They’re just hoping you don’t.
