Calls bullshit!

Gavin Newsom calls Greg Abbott's attacks 'crap,' vows to sign 12 new gun control bills

Alec Regimbal

In the aftermath of a gruesome school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left at least 19 children dead, Democratic leaders in California promised Wednesday to pass several new gun control laws. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a Wednesday news conference that he hopes to fast-track 12 gun control bills currently working their way through the Legislature and sign them by the end of the month. He didn’t say which bills he was referring to, but there are several proposals currently on the table.

The most talked-about bill is one modeled after a Texas law that allows private citizens to sue abortion providers. The California bill allows private citizens to sue manufacturers, sellers and distributors of assault weapons, ghost guns and certain other firearms. As outlined by CalMatters, some other gun control measures currently being considered include: a bill that requires school officials to report any “perceived threat” of a shooting to law enforcement; a bill that would ban gun shows and firearm sales on state property; a bill banning the advertisement of certain guns to minors; and a bill that would require firearm dealers to have enhanced security measures including digital video surveillance and burglar alarms. 

Newsom also took a swipe at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who, not even a day after the Uvalde shooting, said “real gun laws” in California and other places aren’t effective — his justification for why he would not be introducing new gun restrictions in Texas.

Newsom bristled at Abbott's remarks, calling the Texas governor's arguments around the root causes of gun violence "cynicism and crap."

“I wasn’t even going to bring him up but Governor Abbott just name checked the state of California. I would caution him from doing that,” Newsom said before citing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistic that found gun deaths in 2020 were higher in Texas than they were in California.

“Just reflect on the seven laws that [Abbott] celebrated last year — 25 just in the last few decades — that have been rolled back," Newsom said. "Common sense that’s been rolled back in the state of Texas alone as it relates to common sense gun laws. It’s not a surprise, in many respects, what’s going on.”

Newsom also railed against arguments that gun violence is rooted in mental health issues, stating that the U.S. is the only nation in the world that has a recurring mass shooting problem.

“Do not give in to the cynicism and all the crap you heard today in that press conference around evil and mental health, [which] completely belies the fact that there’s only one nation on planet Earth that separates itself from all other nations, and that’s the United States of America, in the perversion of a Second Amendment that begins around 'well-regulated' gun policy” he said. “We’ve completely lost our senses and lost touch with that reality, and we need to change that reality and we have the capacity to do so.”