California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a 28th Amendment to the Constitution to pull back the right to bear arms enshrined in the Second Amendment.
The four pillars of the gun restrictions intend to institute universal background checks, raise the firearm purchase age to 21, force a firearm purchase waiting period, and ban the civilian purchase of assault weapons.
"Our ability to make a more perfect union is literally written into the Constitution, so today, I'm proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to do just that," Newsom wrote in a statement. "The 28th Amendment will enshrine in the Constitution common sense gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support — while leaving the 2nd Amendment unchanged and respecting America's gun-owning tradition."
Moving the age of gun purchases to 21 is a key element, banning those under the age from a Constitutional right they hold until this amendment would become law of the land.
"If you can't buy a beer, you shouldn't be able to buy a gun," Newsom said in a 2-minute video posted to YouTube.
Sophisticated semiautomatic weapons, which Democrats have sought to ban in America for years, has left the Constitution outdated, according to Newsom.
"Those weapons of war our founding fathers never foresaw," Newsom said.
Passing a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate — or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures.
Gun owners from both sides of the aisle in Congress make a two-thirds majority a difficult hurdle for the amendment, but Newsom is urging to put public pressure on Congress with a petition at campaignfordemocracy.com.
Republicans currently hold a 222-213 majority in the House, while Democrats claim a 51-49 majority with three independent senators caucusing with 48 Democrats versus the 49 Republicans.