The National Rifle Association quickly rebuked as unconstitutional a proposed statewide proposition proposed Thursday by Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom.
In the wake of repeated mass shootings at schools and colleges, Newsom unveiled a measure that he said would require ammunition buyers to undergo background checks before purchases and prohibit ownership of high capacity magazines. The measure, if enough signatures are gathered, would appear on the November 2016 ballot.
The NRA said the effort chips away at rights provided by the second amendment. Spokeswoman Amy Hunter was quoted in published reports that gun control proponents ultimately want to confiscate and ban firearms.
That concern was echoed in the North State, where for many, firearms are an important part of the culture.
Marshall Jones, owner of Jones’ Fort, is a Redding firearms dealer.
“I do not believe that it will help crime, I do believe it will put undue hardship on law abiding citizens and gun owners. These people are using any excuse to bring out some new legislation. Every shooting, they sponsor a new bill because they can get it passed to the average public.”
Jones said that additional paperwork requirements would deter people from buying ammo, but not reduce the amount of ammo in circulation. Jones said people, if pushed, could manufacture their own.
Newsom, who is positioning himself to succeed Governor Brown, announced his effort at 101 California, a San Francisco office building where eight were killed and six wounded in a 1993 mass shooting.
Jones hinted that Newsom’s effort was little more than a political stunt.