The topics of gun ownership, gun control, and the Second Amendment make up only a small amount of the more than four hour conversation between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and podcaster Shawn Ryan, but there are several interesting exchanges between the pair.
As we covered yesterday, Newsom tried to reinvent himself as a Second Amendment supporter, or at least someone who’s “not ideologically opposed” to the right to keep and bear arms; a laughable assertion given the governor’s repeated comments about bashing gun ownership itself. I would have loved to see Ryan ask Newsom if there’s any California gun law he has a problem with, since he’s supposedly not anti-gun, but sadly, that was never posed to the governor.
Ryan did ask several good questions, including one about why it’s so difficult to obtain a concealed carry permit in California, but Newsom mostly dodged giving a substantive response. Just a few moments before the governor was quizzed about California carry, Newsom had stated that he’s not anti-gun at all; just in favor of a few “common sense gun safety” measures like bans on large capacity magazines and so-called assault weapons, along with universal background checks and raising the age to possess a firearm to 21.
Those positions are already at odds with our right to keep and bear arms, and so too were his comments about the right to carry.
Because, I mean, I think there’s a cultural construct in California that people just don’t want people running around with concealed carry, and you know, folks you’re running into in a restaurant or bar; you’re on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit); you’re in a school on a playground and everyone running around that’s got a gun, and, uh, you don’t know the good guys from the bad guys. You know, I think there’s just sort of a cultural mindset around that, a concern around that. Uh, we allow for it, there’s a process. You know, there’s law enforcement has a process. By the way, we exempt law enforcement from these gun safety laws in the vast majority of cases, along the lines of what you’re suggesting as it relates to our veterans and military. There are exceptions to many of the rules that we advance, but on concealed carry that’s, it’s, you know, it’s been a principle that we just believe in a permit process that, yes, is pretty comprehensive.
Ryan didn’t push back on Newsom’s response. Instead, he accepted Newsom’s argument that this just what the people of California want.
Now, that may be true, but it’s still not a great argument. If Newsom was the governor of, say, Georgia in the 1950s, and the majority of his constituents wanted to keep segregation in place, would he accept the will of the people?
Newsom says he’s not ideologically opposed to the Second Amendment, but the hollowness of that statement is evident in what he has to say about concealed carry. He never once mentions gun owners protecting themselves with a firearm, or even refers to the right to carry. It’s something that’s “allowed”, not supported.
I wish Ryan would have spent a little more time digging into Newsom’s position here. The podcaster’s original question was about why it’s so difficult to obtain a carry permit in California, but Newsom’s response focused on the limitations the state places on those who have managed to get one. A natural follow up would be, “okay, so after all the vetting that’s done to prove someone’s responsible enough to carry a firearm, why can they only carry in a limited number of places?”
Ryan could also have asked about the disproportionate impact California’s licensing laws have on the working class. A Silicon Valley executive might not have any trouble forking over $2,000 for a two-year permit, but a resident of Santa Clara County who’s struggling to get by paycheck to paycheck simply can’t afford the high cost imposed and allowed by the state on a fundamental civil right.
Newsom might have once again stressed that this what the people of California want, but by not offering any pushback whatsoever he’s also demonstrated this is exactly what he wants as well. The Second Amendment isn’t about shooting skeet or gifting a hunting rifle to a grandchild, even though those activities are protected by the right to keep and bear arms. At its core, the Second Amendment is about defense, both individual and collective, and despite his claims to Ryan, Gavin Newsom is ideologically opposed to ensuring that right can be exercised by We the People without infringement.
Editor’s Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
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