The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, recently unveiled a proposed amendment that would curb Americans’ gun rights. His proposed 28th Amendment, the idea for which came from his anger over the lack of progress that the government, particularly Democratic members of it, has been able to make on gun control.
As background, many state-level gun control efforts have failed in the Supreme Court in past years, with the court being more willing to defend the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms than to restrict it, a trend strengthened by former President Donald Trump appointing three justices to the Supreme Court during his four years.
Now, Gov. Newsom has unveiled a proposed 28th Amendment that would make gun control proposals expressly constitutional, thus dodging the problem posed by the Supreme Court and its recent willingness to defend the Second Amendment. The new amendment, though it would not outright abolish the Second Amendment, would place significant restrictions on it.
Those include raising the federal minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21; mandating universal background checks for purchasing firearms; instituting a waiting period for every gun purchase; and banning so-called “assault weapons.” Some states already have such laws, others are more permissive when it comes to gun rights. This amendment would make them national.
Speaking about the proposed amendment, Gov. Newsom said, “Our ability to make a more perfect union is literally written into the Constitution. So today, I’m proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to do just that. The 28th Amendment will enshrine in the Constitution commonsense gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support — while leaving the Second Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition.”
Though some on the left might back the proposal, it is unlikely to be passed. Under the Constitution, there are two ways for an amendment to the Constitution to be made: either Congress can make an amendment or an Article V convention of states can do so. The proposed amendment is then sent to the states, three-quarters of which must vote to approve it.
With the GOP controlling the House and the Democrats only controlling the Senate by two seats, it is unlikely that either house, much less both, could pass the amendment by the 2/3 vote necessary to send it to the states. Thus, Gov. Newsom is focused on using an Article V convention of the states to get it passed. Under that route, two-thirds of state legislatures must pass resolutions calling for a convention, then it can convene and consider Constitutional amendments.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), blasting Newsom’s proposed amendment, said, Fox News Digital reports, “Newsom’s latest [publicity] stunt once again shows that his unhinged contempt for the right to self-defense has no bounds.” Continuing, the NRA added, “California is a beacon for violence because of Newsom’s embrace of policies that champion the criminal and penalize the law-abiding. That is why the majority of Americans rightfully reject his California-style gun control.”
Watch Newsom describe the proposed amendment in 2023 here:
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