It doesn’t take the sharpest knife in the drawer to know that 2016 was a hot mess of just about everything. Bad gun bills. Bizarre campaign season. Surprising election results.
But hey – we live in California and since the word “boring” is not in our political or cultural dictionary, there’s sure to be enough new whacky stuff to keep us at GOC on our toes.
Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom
This week, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom described the election of Donald Trump as a “leap backward” for states with stringent gun control and tweeted a downright irresponsible editorial by the LA Times on federal reciprocity that charged “a California resident could simply apply for a permit from Utah and start walking around Los Angeles with a hidden handgun, no matter what California voters and lawmakers say….” OH NO!
We have absolutely no doubt that Newsom will attempt to build on the success of the redundant Proposition 63 – he’s already in bed with the legislative leadership, and although they have sparred as to who’s the lead on all things anti-gun, there’s no way they are going to be happy until all the good guys are disarmed. Plus – the Lt. Guv wants to ride the “bullet train” straight to the big seat in the Governor’s Office!
It’s not a stretch to figure the legislature will overreach, and again introduce bills to prohibit the sale of semi-auto long guns. We wouldn’t be surprised, too, if the proposal to limit the purchase of any firearm to one a month will raise its ugly head once again. What’s more, there’s a whole newly-elected slew of anti-gun politicians at the Capitol and they are eager to pay homage to the liberal leadership and push their way to the front of their agenda. The last thing we want to do is give them any ideas with our speculation on what hair-brained stuff they could come up with, so we are just going to wait and see.
“In Sacramento, for many self-absorbed Legislators, getting a bill passed is an extension of their ego…” Jonathan Coupal
2nd Amendment friend Jonathan Coupal recently wrote “In Sacramento, for many self-absorbed Legislators, getting a bill passed is an extension of their ego…” No truer words were ever spoken! As president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, he leads the fight to keep California’s property taxes in check, and says in a recent article in California Political Review,
“For some, just introducing legislation, whether it passes or not, has become a source of income. Twenty years ago, one senator introduced 143 bills in one session. This turned out to be a pay for play scheme where bills were introduced for those willing to pay. This lawmaker ended up spending time in prison for accepting bribes, and the public scrutiny forced the politicians to limit the number of bills that can be introduced to 40. Still, with 120 legislators, this means that there is the potential to introduce a mind-boggling 4,800 bills, each with the potential to become law. And introducing bills remains an effective method for raising campaign cash…”
Of course, the shenanigans will continue! In addition to keeping an eye on our elected officials, GOC will also be closely monitoring the mess of regulations the Department of Justice is required to develop (mandated by Prop 63 and legislation signed by Governor Brown). Given that the statute and the initiative language overlap – and so they are in conflict when it comes to collection of data and implementation, we are facing a real mess – bureaucratic and otherwise. As we have reported, de Leon and Newsom may have “unfriended” each other during the bulk of the campaign season, but we are certain they are now singing Kumbaya and are thinking up other schemes to undermine the 2nd Amendment.
Make no mistake – there will be no let up on the assault on our rights, whether here in California or in Washington DC. We’re pretty sure that rather than spending time in peaceful reflection beside a brightly lit Christmas tree, the left is feverishly contemplating how to undermine (or undo) the election of a pro-Second Amendment President.
A Constitution of government once changed from freedom can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever – John Adams, 1775