Gavin Newsom Wants 28th Amendment to US Constitution to Limit Access to Guns: Democrat proposes massive changes to encourage ‘common sense’ gun ownership
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution to limit gun ownership after a record year of mass shootings.
The Democrats’ plan would leave the 2nd Amendment unchanged and “respect” America’s “gun ownership tradition.”
But he called for “sound homeland security and gun security measures overwhelmingly supported by Democrats, Republicans, independent voters and gun owners.”
These include “general background checks, raising the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21, introducing a waiting period for firearm purchases, and banning the purchase of assault weapons by civilians.”
All of these are hot political issues that have divided both Congress and state legislatures. They have failed to acquit Congress, where Republicans have had a history of successfully thwarting gun control measures.
Last June, the House of Representatives passed a weapons package under Democratic control to raise the minimum age for certain gun purchases, limit the size of gun magazines and codify bump stock regulations. It died in the Senate.
A new constitutional amendment must be passed by a two-thirds majority in Congress or by a motion by two-thirds of the states.
California Governor Gavin Newsom proposes a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution to limit gun ownership
Courts have rejected many legislative gun remedies. Last year, the Supreme Court overturned a New York restriction that restricted people from carrying concealed firearms in public, ruling that people had the right to carry firearms in self-defense.
Newsom is a prominent figure in his party who has withdrawn from a possible presidential bid.
His high-profile gun control effort will put pressure on Democratic and Republican lawmakers and candidates to consider whether they would support an initiative that would impose nationwide gun controls, even in states where opposition to new restrictions is strong.
Biden has faced increasing pressure to respond to what appears to be an endless series of mass shootings. There have been more than 200 so far this year, including a shooting at a high school graduation in Richmond this week.
The White House has responded by citing Biden’s repeated calls for congressional action, including his call to renew a ban on assault weapons like the AR-15, which has been the weapon of choice in mass shootings in schools, hospitals, and workplaces.
Biden himself has stated that Second Amendment gun protections are not limitless, as he did in 2021 when he announced a series of administrative measures that did not require congressional approval.
“But no change – no change in the Constitution is absolute.” You can’t shout at the crowd – you can’t [yell] “Fire” in a crowded movie theater and call it freedom of expression. From the start, you couldn’t own a weapon you wanted to own. Since the inception of the Second Amendment, certain individuals have been prohibited from owning a gun. So the idea of suggesting that some of the things we recommend are contrary to the Constitution is just bizarre,” Biden said.
Last June, Biden signed the first gun safety law into law in decades after a mass shooting that killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
It included incentives for state “red flag” laws and expanded background checks for 18- to 21-year-olds and was the result of tense negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. But it fell short of Biden’s broader goals of new gun restrictions.