(ConservativeSense.com) – California Governor Gavin Newsom has called for a constitutional convention allowing states to pass gun control laws that would otherwise be unconstitutional. Newsom has requested that Congress allow states to enact legislation to increase background checks, raise the age of a person’s eligibility for gun ownership, institute a waiting period, and ban assault weapons. It also asks that states be permitted to limit sales, possession, and carrying rights.
Legal experts are suggesting that the move is not legally feasible and that Newsom’s proposals are merely symbolic. Robert A. Schapiro, dean of the University of San Diego School of Law, said if Newsom’s wishes were granted, it would open the door to de facto unconstitutional state laws that could focus on issues beyond gun control. In effect, the constitutional system could collapse.
The Democratic Governor’s arguments are mainly based on reducing gun violence and mass shootings, but despite boasting that it already has the strictest gun laws in the United States, California also has among the highest rates of gun crime and firearms-related homicides. Statistics show, for example, that mass public shootings are higher per capita in California than in any other state, including Texas, where gun laws are less stringent.
Furthermore, opponents of Mr. Newsom’s proposals say banning guns does not make people safer, and the vast majority of gun murders are carried out by people already legally prohibited from firearms ownership.
The White House, however, appears to agree at least partly with Newsom’s standpoint and recently announced plans for the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention. A statement from the Oval Office said Vice President Kamala Harris will lead the initiative and will be joined by longtime gun violence adviser Stefanie Feldman and leading gun violence prevention advocates Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox.
The President said that whenever he meets families affected by firearms-related crimes, “they all have the same message for their elected officials: do something.” He urged Congress to allow commonsense measures that the public will support.
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