Gavin Newsom must be hoping blue-state moderates and rural Democrats have short, dissipate memories.
California's governor isn't being the faintest bit coy about the fact that he's running for the White House. But he is soft-pedaling his record on Second Amendment issues:
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tried to downplay his anti-gun record during a recent interview with Shawn Ryan, once again using his trademark charm to suggest he's not opposed to the Second Amendment. But his history tells a different story. Despite his claims, Newsom has repeatedly supported gun control measures that directly contradict his latest stance, revealing yet another example of him shifting positions depending on the audience. And yes, the receipts are there to prove it.
He's certainly got impetus to convert; podcaster Ryan gave the Governor a pretty sweet enticement:
I've, uh, heard the P365 X-Macro is a pretty rockin' piece. Or so i'm told.
The Governor is in full fill-in-the-hole mode - but his progressive base won't let him stop digging, either:
In a clip from the interview, Newsom tells Ryan he is not "anti-gun at all" after the show host gifted him a California-compliant SIG Sauer P365 X-Macro. Instead, he stated his opposition to “large-capacity magazine clips” and “weapons of war" – the phrase leftists use for America’s most popular rifle, the AR-15. The governor also said he is "sometimes" anti-"out-gunning" the police.
Of course, it goes way deeper than that: Newsom has signed over 60 gun control bills into law as governor, including legislation that would allow lawsuits against gun dealers...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Tuesday that clears the path for gun violence victims to file civil suits against the companies that manufacture the firearms used in crimes.
The move effectively tightens gun laws in California, which has the strictest gun safety measures in the nation, according to the Giffords Law Center.
...a rapacious tax guns and ammo combined with a comprehensive ban on carry and much possession..
The laws were some of nearly two dozen gun control measures Newsom signed on Tuesday. But he acknowledged many of these laws might not survive legal challenges now that the U.S. Supreme Court has imposed a new standard on interpreting the nation’s gun laws. Just last week, a federal judge struck down a California law banning guns with detachable magazines that carry more than 10 rounds — one of three major pending cases challenging California’s gun restrictions.
...on top of his near-complete ban on firearms in San Francisco when he was mayor.
Within the limits of the City and County of San Francisco, no resident of the City and County of San Francisco shall possess any handgun unless required for professional purposes, as enumerated herein. Specifically, any City, state or federal employee carrying out the functions of his or her government employment, including but not limited to peace officers as defined by California Penal Code Section 830 et.seq. and animal control officers may possess a handgun. Active members of the United States armed forces or the National Guard and security guards, regularly employed and compensated by a person engaged in any lawful business, while actually employed and engaged in protecting and preserving property or life within the scope of his or her employment, may also possess handguns. Within 90 days from the effective date of this section, any resident of the City and County of San Francisco may surrender his or her handgun at any district station of the San Francisco Police Department, or to the San Francisco Sheriffs Department without penalty under this section.
If you wondered if anyone could be more cynical about this issue than Tim Walz - who worked tirelessly for gun control as Governor of Minnesota, while cosplaying in his Elmer Fudd costume for the cameras to buttress his "Outdoorsman" cred? Wonder no more.
