Newsom rants about 2nd Amendment in state that ignores it

After a weekend shooting in Monterey Park, where 11 people were killed and 10 wounded at a dance studio, Gov. Gavin Newsom walked the streets near the crime scene with a CBS news crew and anchor Norah O’Donnell in tow.

“Nothing about this is surprising,” Newsom, appearing angry over the shooting, huffed to O’Donnell and the TV camera. “Everything about this is infuriating.”

Also in tow behind the California governor was a security detail of tough-looking security guards, presumably well-armed. They were protecting their boss while he angrily told O’Donnell the Second Amendment “is becoming a suicide pact.”

CA wants to tax super-wealthy even when they leave Chris Woodward, AFN.net Over-taxed Californians fleeing the state are being reminded why they left: Even when you pack up and go, Democrats want to punish you for being wealthy. A tax proposal from Assemblyman Alex Lee could start as early as next year for Californians with a “worldwide” net worth above $1 billion. The super-rich tax on income, assets, stocks, and even valuable artwork could extend to people worth $50 million by 2026 according to the legislation. Lee Schalk, an economist at the American Legislative Exchange Council, says California is not lacking for taxpayers’ money. “California had a $97.5 billion surplus a matter of months ago and, fast forward to today,” he says, “and California is facing a projected $24 billion deficit.” Pete Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, has a word for the state legislation: predictable. “There is a disease deep in the soul of American government,” he observes, “and it's a profound inability to say 'enough is enough' and live within our means." Attorney James S. Burling of Pacific Legal Foundation tells AFN the tax proposal is something that has never been tried before and he expects lawsuits to fly to stop it.

The ballroom rampage, and a mass shooting at two farms three days earlier, happened in a state that is ranked highest for “gun law strength” by the anti-gun group Everytown USA. According to Everytown’s statistics, California has the sixth-lowest gun ownership rate in the country and a long list of restrictive laws that put it atop the list.

According to media reports, the farm shooting suspect owned a legally-owned semi-automatic handgun. The model has not been publicly identified by authorities.  

In the ballroom shooting, the suspect there used a MAC-10 that is illegal in California. That firearm mimics a submachine, like the famous Uzi, but is a semi-automatic 9 mm that was popular during the 1980s. The shooter later used a Norinco handgun, which was registered to him, to kill himself.

In all, both shootings claimed the lives of 18 people in a state that Everytown also says has the eighth-lowest rate of gun-related deaths nationwide.

Despite the use of semi-auto firearms, President Biden urged Congress on Tuesday to pass a bill to ban so-called "assault weapons." 

Media Research Center, the media watchdog, credited O’Donnell for pushing back on Newsom’s anti-2nd Amendment rant by pointing out many Americans are “lawful” gun owners. Forced to respond, Newsom claimed he has no “ideological opposition” to people “reasonably, responsibly” owning firearms if they undergo a background check and get trained.

But the CBS News reporter wasn’t done. “How did he get a gun,” she asked, “that’s illegal in the state of California?”

“Exactly,” the governor unhappily replied. “We’ll figure it out. That’s gonna happen.”  

Mike Hammond, legislative counsel to Gun Owners of America, tells AFN the state of California is committing a “suicide pact” with its own citizens by refusing to allow more of them to be armed in public.

“California has more and more anti-gun laws,” Hammond says, “yet it has the greatest number of mass shootings in the country.”

A quick online search proved Hammond right. California leads the country in the number of mass shootings, even according to Everytown USA statistics that show 31 tragic attacks from 2009-2023. It is doubtful that statistic includes the two recent shootings in the state.