California Gov. Gavin Newsom Proposes 28th Amendment Restricting Gun Ownership

Topline

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is proposing a 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution to enact restrictions on gun ownership—including a national ban on assault rifles—in an unprecedented response to the countless mass shootings that plague the U.S., but chances of adding an amendment seem slim to none since Republicans control most state legislatures.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a 28th Amendment restricting gun ownership.

AP/Rich Pedroncelli

Key Facts

Newsom’s proposed amendment would raise the federal minimum age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21, mandate universal background checks, institute a “reasonable” waiting period for all gun purchases and ban civilian purchases of assault rifles nationally.

In order for an amendment to be added to the constitution it needs the support of 34 state legislatures, which would trigger a constitutional convention to discuss the amendment and at the constitutional convention 38 states support would be needed to ratify.

In the announcement video Thursday, Newsom noted the amendment would keep the Second Amendment “intact” while “respecting America’s gun owning tradition.”

The proposed amendment appears to face long odds since Republicans, who typically oppose gun restrictions, control a majority of state legislatures.

In an interview with NBC News, Newsom was asked how feasible a campaign for the 28th amendment would be given GOP power at the state level, but claimed “it’s possible because their constituency demands it.”

The California governor will fund the campaign to get other states on board with his proposal using leftover money from his 2022 reelection campaign.

Crucial Quote

“I got four damn kids, dude, I can’t take it anymore. I mean, when they go to the mall now, when they go to a movie theater, when they go to a birthday party—let alone going to school. And I have to have conversations with them about this. This is insane. It’s absolute insanity,” Newsom told Politico in an interview.

Key Background

Mass shootings in America prompt a similar cycle of response each time. Politicians broadly call for thoughts and prayers, while some, almost always Democrats, also demand some kind of gun control. Depending on the circumstances—there was notably more momentum in Washington after mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022—members of Congress and sometimes the White House begin discussing restrictions like assault weapons bans or mandatory background checks. But historically, momentum is quickly lost.

What To Watch For

Newsom’s proposal, seemingly not ignited by one mass shooting event in particular, offers a different, much more difficult approach to the crisis. Newsom will need to lobby the support of an additional 33 state legislatures in order to meet the requirements for a constitutional convention. Currently, Democrats control 19 of the 50 state legislatures in the U.S., meaning Newsom will have to convince more than a dozen Republican-controlled legislatures to support gun-control measures the party has historically lobbied against. Newsom and other Democrats have argued that while Republican politicians usually don’t support gun control restrictions, their constituents do. An April Fox News poll found most Americans are in favor of the measures included in Newsom’s proposed amendment. Approximately 61% of Americans support banning assault rifles and 87% favor criminal background checks, according to the Fox poll. An effort from President Joe Biden last June to enact gun control restrictions failed to ban any weapons, but did include funding for school safety and state crisis intervention programs.

Big Number

279. That’s how many mass shootings, defined as four or more injuries or deaths, have happened in the U.S. so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom Proposes 28th Amendment Restricting Gun Ownership—But Effort Seems Certain To Fail