You’re probably familiar with the saying: ‘As California goes, so goes the nation.’ It is the notion that things started in California will spread and be adopted by the rest of the nation. While certainly true in some areas, there are others where California really needs to get with the times and join the rest of the nation, especially when it comes to the Second Amendment.
To be fair, California has initiated a lot of good. As a center of technology with many great universities, the sixth largest economy in the world and roughly 12 percent of the nation’s population, one would hope the state would contribute significantly to the overall good of the country. However being a leader in one area does not make you a leader in all. Sadly California is going in the opposite direction when it comes to the Second Amendment.
To say that California doesn’t like firearms is a massive understatement. California seems to HATE firearms. But wait; let me clarify that a bit. California seems to HATE personally owned firearms. It has no problem at all with firearms owned by the state or used to protect those in political office or the economic elitists. It’s just everyone else they don’t want to have firearms.
In my now 20+ years of living in California, I’ve seen a slow but steady incremental approach to eliminating the rights of private law abiding citizens to own, carry and use firearms. Each new law enacted is labeled as a “common sense” or “gun safety” measure to increase “public safety”, but sadly as we’ve seen, do nothing to impact crime or criminals, only the law abiding. They only serve to bring the state closer to a total ban on civilian firearm ownership.
Let’s be really clear on the whole criminal vs. law-abiding citizen thing. The definition of a criminal is someone who does not obey the law. A law-abiding citizen on the other hand, does obey the law. So when a law is created which only restricts or redefines otherwise lawful behavior as illegal, it will do nothing to impact criminals. It only serves to remove the rights from those who obey the law in the first place.
So what is California bringing to the safety-for-the-public table?
California has redefined many felonies to misdemeanors to help keep criminals from being incarcerated, turning the state’s criminal justice system into a catch and release system, increasing crime in much of the state.
California has redefined crimes such as assault with a deadly weapon, rape of an unconscious person, human trafficking involving sex act with minors, drive-by shootings and assault with a deadly weapon on peace officer as “non-violent” felonies eligible for early release.
California has added more previously legal firearms to the banned “assault weapons” list due to “evil features” which do nothing to increase or decrease a firearm’s lethality. Those currently possessed must be registered in order to be retained – at least for now.
California has banned previously grandfathered standard capacity magazines, what they define as “high-capacity”, which now must be disposed of.
California has made it so anyone wishing to purchase ammunition in the state will need to pay for a separate ammo buyer’s license and have a background check for each and every purchase.
And what does California have to show for it? Some of the highest levels of crime in the nation; rivaled only by those areas where gun control of the law-abiding is also a priority.
It’s time for California to look at the rest of the nation and learn. California needs to learn that continuing to restrict Second Amendment rights does nothing but turn law-abiding citizens into victims. Being a leader means you must recognize when you are wrong and that good ideas can come from anywhere. It’s time for a new proverb: As goes the nation, so goes California.
Bob
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