California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday unveiled his proposal for a constitutional amendment to address gun violence.
“I’m proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to help end our nation’s gun violence crisis,” Newsom posted on Twitter along with a video address. “The American people are sick of Congress’ inaction. The 28th will enshrine 4 widely supported gun safety freedoms — while leaving the 2nd Amendment intact: 1) Raising the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21 2) Universal background checks 3) A reasonable waiting period for gun purchases 4) Banning the civilian purchase of assault weapons.”
Newsom said in the two-minute spot:
Every time it’s the same. They tell us we can’t stop these massacres. They tell us we have to stand by and watch tragedy after tragedy unfold in our communities. They say we can’t stop domestic terrorism without violating the Second Amendment, and thoughts and prayers are the best we can do. I’m here to say that’s a lie in this country. We do have the power, the power to change things, to reclaim our freedom from fear. Her 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 permanently enshrines four additions to the laws of our land. It raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from eighteen to twenty-one because we can’t buy a beer. You shouldn’t be able to buy a gun.
It mandates universal background checks to prevent truly dangerous people from purchasing a gun that can be used in a crime, and institutes reasonable waiting periods for all gun purchases, and it bans civilians from buying assault rifles, those weapons of war our Founding Fathers never foresaw. This will guarantee states as well the ability to enact common sense gun safety laws while leaving the Second Amendment intact and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition.
The 28th locks in the common sense constitutional protections that Democrats, Republicans, independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support. And it ensures NRA-owned politicians can never strip those protections away.
This fight won’t be easy, and it certainly won’t be fast. Convening a constitutional convention requires two-thirds of the states to call for this. California will be the first, but that’s just the beginning. Join us by going to campaign for democracy.com and signing the petition to protect our communities and protect our freedom. Support the 28th.
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A few hours later, and although not mentioned personally, Republican Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves challenged Newsom to an exchange of ideas. According to the Violence Policy Center, Mississippi boasts the highest rate of gun deaths per capita of any state.
“Gov. Newsom, I am willing to debate you on this in Mississippi any time. So on your next trip to our state to campaign for my opponent, give me a call,” Reeves tweeted on Thursday afternoon.
Newsom fired right back.
“Can’t wait for you to defend the fact that Mississippi has the highest gun violence death rate in the nation…. (377% higher than California’s, by the way),” Newsom wrote. “You can’t be serious.”
Watch Newsom’s announcement below or at this link.
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