The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is accusing California Governor Gavin Newsom of hypocrisy after he signed a law preventing local governments from requiring voter identification, while still mandating that gun buyers provide ID before exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Governor Newsom, known for his strong support of gun control measures throughout his political career, has backed various laws tightening firearm regulations in California.
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He has even proposed a constitutional amendment aimed at limiting the Second Amendment.
Critics argue that his ultimate goal is to make gun ownership so burdensome that it deters Californians from exercising their right to bear arms.
In contrast, the bill Newsom signed prohibits local governments from implementing ordinances that require residents to show valid identification to vote in municipal elections. The law, which primarily targets Huntington Beach, extends to all cities in California.
“Gavin Newsom’s hypocrisy evidently knows no limits,” said CCRKBA Managing Director Andrew Gottlieb. “Demanding background checks and positive identification to buy a gun, but not requiring ID to vote essentially treats the Second Amendment as a second-class right, and the U.S. Supreme Court has already made it clear that sort of double standard is off the table.”
“The notion that requiring voter ID somehow places obstacles in the path of certain groups is ludicrous,” he observed, “because Newsom hasn’t protested about obstacles placed in the way of gun buyers, regardless their age, race or economic status. Indeed, he’s all for making it as tough as possible for law-abiding Golden State residents, no matter who they are, to legally purchase or own firearms.
“If identification is required to exercise one fundamental right,” Gottlieb said, “it should be required for all rights, and vice versa. There should be no double standards, which is now the case in California. Andi-gunners like Newsom invariably say things are different when it comes to guns, but we’re not talking about guns, we’re talking about rights,” Gottlieb concluded.”
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