Newsom Calls for Constitutional Amendment on Gun Control

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called Thursday on Twitter for a constitutional amendment to impose gun control on the country, claiming that his proposal “leaves the 2nd Amendment intact.”

The Second Amendment states that the right to bear arms “shall not be infringed,” so it is unclear how Newsom’s proposed Twenty-eighth Amendment, which restricts that right, would leave the 2nd Amendment “intact.”

Moreover, since a two-thirds vote of Congress is generally required to launch the process of amending the Constitution, it is unclear how Newsom intends to begin if, as he says, Congress is responsible for inaction.

The only alternative route to a constitutional amendment is to hold a convention of the states under Article V of the Constitution, a prospect that conservatives would savor and have trying to organize for nearly a decade.

Newsom appears to endorse the idea of a convention of the states, as he explained in a video on Twitter: “Convening a constitutional convention requires two-thirds of the states to call for this [amendment].”

He claims that California will be the “first” state to call for such a convention, but in fact 19 states, most of which are governed by Republicans, have already called for such a convention to ratify conservative proposals.