![]() “So maybe the Supreme Court will say these things violate the 2nd Amendment, but it hasn’t happened yet,” said Chemerinsky, who predicted the high court would at the least continue to allow background checks. “If judges are taking radical approaches, the only recourse is to change the actual Constitution,” said Anthony York, a spokesperson for Newsom.īut Chemerinsky pointed out that none of the changes Newsom is proposing have been addressed by the Supreme Court yet. Gun control advocates and California officials condemned the ruling, saying it could touch off a broader push to weaken firearm laws. ![]() District Judge Roger Benitez compared the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle to a Swiss Army knife and called it “good for both home and battle.”Ĭalifornia After judge overturns California assault weapons ban, state officials vow to fight back While rejecting the state’s 30-year ban on assault rifles in 2021, U.S. Newsom’s aides said the governor is calling for a constitutional convention after federal courts struck down several of California’s gun control measures. “It’s incredibly unlikely, because I can’t imagine two-thirds of the states calling for this and three-quarters of the states approving changing the 2nd Amendment when you’ve got a majority of states controlled by Republican legislatures, and it’s dangerous to be opening the door to giving credence to the idea of a constitutional convention.” “That’s why I think that Newsom is making a huge mistake in calling for a constitutional convention,” Chemerinsky said. If Congress or lawmakers don’t have the political will to enact the measures through legislation, he said, they won’t do so through a constitutional amendment. ![]() Newsom’s gun control proposals could be carried out by state legislatures or Congress and would not violate the 2nd Amendment, he said. He said a balanced budget would devastate social programs, and liberals have argued against it by saying a constitutional convention is unprecedented and dangerous.īy endorsing the process for gun control, Newsom is eroding that argument, he said.Ĭhemerinksy also made the case that it’s unnecessary. “No one knows would it be limited to just the 2nd Amendment, or could it do anything? Could they do abortion or rewrite the Constitution? How is it going to be constituted? What are its rules?”Ĭhemerinsky said calls for constitutional conventions from conservatives have gained traction over the years, including a proposal to mandate a balanced federal budget. “To me, what’s really frightening about it is we’ve never had a constitutional convention under that procedure of Article V,” Chemerinsky said. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed in a constitutional convention under that process. Constitution, an amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of Congress or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. The proposal comes after Newsom in March launched a new federal political action committee, dubbed the Campaign for Democracy, which he said he created to boost Democrats before the 2024 election and push back on Republican leaders who “ban books,” “kidnap migrants” and “stoke racism.”Įrwin Chemerinsky, dean of the school of law at UC Berkeley, called Newsom’s plan a “terrible idea.” It could further the liberal governor’s efforts to expand his political influence on some of the most pivotal and controversial issues facing the country. Newsom’s announcement is likely to be politically popular among national Democrats and in California, which has some of the toughest gun control restrictions in the nation. Republicans currently control more than half of the nation’s state legislatures, some of which have recently taken action to reduce gun restrictions. constitutional amendment on gun control that would ban assault weapons and mandate background checks and waiting periods for purchasing firearms, a proposal that has little chance of passing in a nation deeply divided on the issue.įor Newsom’s proposed 28th Amendment to be considered, legislatures in two-thirds of the states must vote in favor of a constitutional convention. Gavin Newsom on Thursday called for a U.S. ![]()
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