I’ve always believed the beginning of California’s political decline was the 2003 recall election. The GOP chose Arnold Schwarzenegger over Tom McClintock, a more conservative alternative, and in my view, that was the beginning of the California Republican Party abandoning the very voters it needed to compete.
I lived in California most of my life. It is one of the most beautiful, extraordinary states in the country. I didn’t leave because I stopped loving California. I left because I no longer recognized its politics, and I believe the GOP bears responsibility for giving up on the state and leaving voters with fewer meaningful choices.
This latest round of gun control legislation is another example of where that political abandonment ultimately led.
While hundreds of Second Amendment activists were in Dallas, Texas attending the 41st annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was busy in Sacramento, inking ten new gun control measures, including Senate Bill 948, which will require new gun buyers to take a gun safety class in order to buy a firearm, starting in 2029.
The legislation was authored by Berkeley Democratic Sen. Jesse Arreguín.
As stated in the legislation, “This bill would require an applicant for a firearm safety certificate, on or after January 1, 2029, to complete within the prior year a training course no less than 4 hours in length that, among other things, includes instruction on firearm safety and handling and live-fire shooting exercises on a firing range. The bill would authorize the Department of Justice to promulgate regulations and provide additional information for the implementation of these provisions.”
By Dave Workman
