BELLEVUE, WA – California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration last week during a visit with Tennessee-based podcaster Shawn Ryan—where the governor accepted a Sig Sauer pistol—saying that he is “not anti-gun…just for gun safety” needs affirmation by action, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms observed.
“Assuming that Newsom’s epiphany is real and he is trying to revive a pro-gun wing of the Democratic Party as exemplified by Eleanor Roosevelt and Hubert Humphrey,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “he can demonstrate this by telling gun grabbers in the California legislature to end their crusade against Second Amendment rights. He can tell Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel to stop his war on Glock pistols. And, to solidify his newly-professed pro-gun philosophy, Newsom can force major amendments to Senate Bill 704, which imposes new requirements on barrel transfers, or veto the legislation altogether.”
Although Newsom was gifted with the Sig pistol, he left the gun with Ryan so it may be legally transferred to him back in California, where it will be shipped via a federally-licensed firearms dealer. When the gun arrives, the governor can fill out the necessary paperwork and go through the state’s 10-day waiting period after he passes a background check. If he plans to carry concealed, he must obtain a California Firearm Safety Certificate before he applies for a carry permit.
“We will wait with bated breath for Gov. Newsom to announce he has completed all of the California requirements,” Gottlieb said, “and then he can show us a sample of his safety and marksmanship skills, which should be rather enlightening.
“Newsom might further cement his position as a gun rights champion by encouraging Attorney General Rob Bonta to drop his opposition to lawsuits brought by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and others,” Gottlieb added. “He can also lobby the State Assembly to change California anti-gun laws passed hastily to get around the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in the Bruen case.
“The governor’s daughter turns 18 in 2027,” he noted. “How will Gavin react if she wants to own a handgun for personal protection? He might start now by encouraging Bonta to support SAF’s efforts to overturn state and federal restrictions against handgun ownership by young adults.
“Gavin has a ways to go before he convinces anyone he has turned over a new leaf on gun rights,” Gottlieb said. “He should start right now.”