California became the first state on Sept. 14 to officially call for a constitutional convention to allow states to approve an amendment to raise the age of gun ownership to 21, impose background checks on private transfers of guns, require waiting periods for buying guns, and enact an assault weapon ban. This proposed 28th Amendment to the Constitution is California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s idea.
Democrats may not realize they are conceding that they must amend the U.S. Constitution before passing their gun control wish list. But they don’t have the votes. Democrats control the governorship and state legislature in only 17 states — far short of the 38 states needed to ratify a constitutional amendment. Nor do they have the votes in Congress.
Gun control groups claim California has the country’s strictest gun control laws, but it shouldn’t hold itself out as a model for the rest of the country to follow. California’s per capita rate of mass public shootings has consistently exceeded that of the rest of the country. The rate is much lower in Texas, but gun control groups give Texas an “F” grade.
Since 2010, California’s mass public shooting rate per capita has been 43 percent higher than Texas’ and 29 percent higher than the rest of the United States. From 2020 on, it has been even worse. California’s rate was 276 percent higher than Texas’ and 100 percent higher than the rest of the country.
Democrats’ primary argument for raising the gun ownership age is that 18, 19, and 20-year-olds commit
