(NewsNation) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that, if passed, would restrict access to gun ownership in all 50 states.
Newsom outlined his plan Thursday to pursue the amendment to implement four gun control safety regulations into the Constitution — raising the minimum age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21, implementing universal background checks, instituting a “reasonable” waiting period for gun purchases and preventing civilians from buying “assault weapons.”
He said these proposals will respect the country’s gun-owning tradition protected by the Second Amendment but create common-sense safety measures.
“Our ability to make a more perfect union is literally written into the Constitution,” Newsom said. “So today, I’m proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to do just that. The 28th Amendment will enshrine in the Constitution common sense gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support – while leaving the 2nd Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition.”
Newsom said that the proposal is in response to laws that have been enacted to establish gun safety measures being rolled back by courts, during an interview on NBC’s “The Today Show.”
In 2022, the Supreme Court expanded gun rights with its ruling that struck down a New York gun law that made obtaining a permit to carry a handgun outside the home more difficult. The majority found that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to self-defense outside the home.
That ruling gave other courts and judges new guidance and increased skepticism toward the constitutionality of gun regulations.
Newsom said states would need to call for a convention for the amendment to be considered as a result of congressional inaction to halt continued gun violence and mass shootings.
He also said he’d work with supporters, elected and civic leaders, and “broad and diverse coalitions” to push for resolutions on the amendment to be passed in other state legislatures. He also said a joint resolution is being introduced on it by a state senator and assembly member in California.
“There’s not a parent out there, not one parent, you included, that doesn’t think about these things when you send your kids to school,” Newsom said in the interview.
The Hill contributed to this report.