California Gov. Gavin Newsom is probably trying to set the stage for bigger and better things in his career by proposing a gun control constitutional amendment. In doing so, he likely figured he’d be the darling of the anti-gun left, yet there hasn’t been a lot of support offered from that side of things.
There are a lot of reasons why that’s likely. Part of it is that it’s a tacit admission that the Second Amendment prohibits pretty much any kind of gun control, which would be why a new amendment would be needed. Considering that the amendment only lays out a few measures, it would likely cause new issues for the anti-gun side.
But while most anti-gunners are less than impressed, it seems California Democrats are ready to rally behind their governor.
California’s Democratic lawmakers are supporting Governor Gavin Newsom’s pursuit of a constitutional amendment for gun control. The amendment, proposed by Newsom’s Campaign for Democracy PAC, was introduced in a joint resolution on Monday. Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Sen. Aisha Wahab are the authors of the legislation, which advocates for a constitutional convention that would enable states and local governments to restrict firearm ownership.
Of course, it should be remembered that a constitutional convention wouldn’t be limited to discussing gun control. That’s the risk Newsom and the California Democrats are taking here. Literally anything could be on the table, including things they don’t want, such as abortion restrictions, new restrictions on illegal immigration, and any number of other things Democrats aren’t thrilled about.
This may also be why a lot of Newsom’s fellow Democrats outside of his state aren’t exactly tripping over themselves to support this measure.
And let’s understand, Newsom has to know this isn’t going to happen. More than half the states in the country, for example, have some form of permitless carry. They’re not exactly going to be tripping over themselves to pass an amendment that restricts guns anywhere near the degree Newsom is proposing.
Plus, some of these proposals, like universal background checks, tend to poll well enough, but not when you start getting into the nitty-gritty of just how these things work. Once people understand that, support starts evaporating.
Anyone attending a constitutional convention is likely to be made aware of this fact, meaning they’re going to be concerned about going quite that far.
Then, as previously noted, you have the gun control advocates who aren’t going to be fond of an amendment that outlines certain restrictions but doesn’t leave the door open for more. That’s likely to shut down additional measures they want permanently or, at least, make them much tougher to sell.
So why rally behind Newsom?
Because governors are the leaders of their states’ parties. At least some of this support is simply bending the knee, showing your loyalty, and hoping the governor remembers you when your pet legislation is on the table or, at a minimum, doesn’t decide to hold a grudge against you for not bending the knee.
No one is fooled about this legislation. That includes California Democrats.
