LOS ANGELES, Calif – California Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing a new amendment to the United States Constitution.
The governor’s office has yet to share the text of Newsom’s proposed addition to the Constitution. Democratic Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer plans to introduce the amendment in the California Legislature but was no more forthcoming with details on Thursday.
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But according to the governor, the amendment would add four specific firearm restrictions to the U.S. Constitution:
- Raise the federal minimum age for all gun buyers to 21. Federal rules already apply that higher limit to handgun purchasers, but 18-year-olds are allowed to buy rifles and shotguns.
- Require an as-yet-unspecified “reasonable waiting period” between the time a person pays for and receives a gun. California has a 10-day waiting period, though there is no nationwide policy.
- Require background checks for all gun purchases. Federal law already mandates this for sales from licensed firearm dealers, but not for non-professional vendors who might set up a stall at a gunshow or sell to a family member or friend. California already imposes mandatory background checks on all sales.
- Bar civilian purchase of assault weapons. California has such a ban in place, but as lawmakers here have discovered, coming up with a consistent, working definition of “assault weapon” is easier said than done.
In a press release touting the announcement, Newsom stressed his proposed constitutional change would leave “the Second Amendment unchanged.” But the governor’s proposed 28th amendment would also “affirm Congress, states, and local governments can enact additional common-sense gun safety regulations that save lives.”
Whether those two pledges contradict one another depends on how robust one believes the Second Amendment’s protections truly are.
