Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday proposed a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to make “common sense gun safety measures” the law of the land.
Newsom’s proposal would leave the 2nd Amendment unchanged, but require universal background checks, raise the firearm purchase age to 21, institute a waiting period, and bar the civilian purchase of assault weapons.
“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,” he said.
Passage of a 28th Amendment would require a convention to propose the amendment to the Constitution. A total of 33 other states, in addition to California, would need to take action to convene such a convention.
State Sen. Aisha Wahab from and East San Francisco Bay area and Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer from South Central Los Angeles have stepped forward to offer a resolution to convene a limited constitution convention to consider a 28th Amendment.
Newsom’s proposal comes amid growing gun violence in the United States and the Supreme Court’s recent rulings expanding the scope of the 2nd Amendment.
Article 5 of the Constitution allows two-thirds of state legislatures to call for a convention to propose an amendment. If enough states call for the convention, three-quarters of all 50 states would need to vote in favor of the amendment at the convention for it to go into effect.