Gavin Newsom rips blue state ‘rights regression’ after judge strikes down California gun law

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GAVIN NEWSOM RIPS BLUE STATE ‘RIGHTS REGRESSION’ AFTER JUDGE STRIKES DOWN CALIFORNIA GUN LAW

Via Lindsey Holden and Maggie Angst...

Time was when a politician invoked the doctrine of “states’ rights,” it was in opposition to court decisions that integrated schools, opened housing and advanced other aims of the civil rights movement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom repurposed that rallying cry Tuesday, for a broadside against federal judges who strike down the state laws protecting voting rights, reproductive freedoms, LGBTQ issues and gun safety.

Yet simultaneously, he called for federal action to prevent more gun violence.

Days after U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez struck down California’s large-capacity ammunition ban for the second time, Newsom said Democrats can no longer “live with a sense of immunity” from “rights regression” brought on by the federal judiciary.

“You can’t just be a blue state and advance a blue state framework,” Newsom said. “They’re coming after these laws and they’re winning in federal courts.”

Newsom made the comments at a signing event to celebrate a set of new gun control laws in California, including a first-of-its-kind excise tax on weapon sales and new concealed carry rules.

Newsom said he was proud of the legislation, but warned that it “may not be enough.”

“These are all national leaders that are assembled here today,” Newsom said standing next to Attorney General Rob Bonta and Democratic lawmakers. “But it’s going to require a national construct, a national frame in order to ultimately address this.”

The governor is leading a national campaign to amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit the sale of guns to people under 21, mandate extensive background checks, establish a waiting period for purchases and ban the sale of assault rifles.

POLL SHOWS SCHIFF WITH SLIGHT LEAD IN SENATE RACE

Burbank Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff has edged out Irvine Democratic Rep. Katie Porter to take the lead among California voters in the race to succeed California Sen. Dianne Feinstein next year, according to a new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California.

The poll found that 20% of California voters back Schiff, compared to 15% for Porter and 8% for Oakland Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee. This marks a 4-percentage-point increase for Schiff from PPIC’s last survey in July. Then, Porter led with 19%, while Schiff sat at 16% and Lee at 13%.

This lead comes as Schiff faces increasing scrutiny over his practice of securing congressional earmark funding for high-dollar donors, as reported Tuesday by Politico California.

Schiff spokeswoman Marisol Samayoa told Politico that “Californians know and trust Adam’s record of getting things done, and as a U.S. senator, he will do what it takes to ensure Californians’ tax dollars are put to work for them and their priorities.

“These contributions amount to less than one tenth of one percent of what Adam has raised over 20 years in Congress, and were driven by what was best for our troops and his constituents. It is ridiculous to suggest otherwise,” she told Politico.

Meanwhile, Schiff nemesis former President Donald Trump continues to clean up among California Republicans, despite dozens of felony indictments across four separate cases and being twice impeached when he last served in the Oval Office.

Nearly half (48%) of California Republican likely voters want Trump as their 2024 nominee. The other Republican candidates are nowhere near that — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has just 14% support, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence both have 7% and former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney — who isn’t currently running for president — has 5%.

But if Trump takes heart in his Republican support, he will find less joy in his statewide prospects. Just 26% of likely voters would back him against President Joe Biden, who has 57% support.

The PPIC poll surveyed 1,671 California adult residents between Aug. 25 and Sept. 5. The sampling error is 3.1%.

IS NEWSOM POLITICALLY TO THE RIGHT OF LEGISLATIVE DEMOCRATS?

Newsom has developed a national reputation as a proud progressive. He’s taken stands on virtually every hot button issue, clashed with Trump and DeSantis, and worked to champion liberal causes both at home and abroad.

But a new study from the right-leaning Institute for Legislative Analysis found that Newsom is actually more conservative than the Democrats who hold a supermajority in the California Legislature.

The report, based on nearly 8,000 lawmaker votes across 10 policy areas in 2022, found that Newsom was more moderate than his legislative party members.

According to the report, Newsom sided with the position of limited government 39% of the time, compared to just 5% of the time for Democrats and more than 83% of the time for Republicans.

When it comes to tax and fiscal issues, Newsom aligned with the limited government position 60% of the time. That’s way more than Democrats (1%) and even Republicans (58%).

On crime, Newsom took the conservative position 60% of the time, far more than Democratic lawmakers who did so 8% of the time though less so than Republicans, who did so 96% of the time.

Newsom was more in line with his Democratic colleagues on the topic of energy and environmental issues, supporting the limited government approach just 20% of the time compared to the Democratic average of 9%.

So ILA is happy with Newsom’s record, right? Not exactly.

Instead, ILA CEO Ryan McGowan said in a statement that this report should be “a serious wake-up call to Republicans” that no Republican lawmaker’s record on taxing and spending should ever “mirror a California Democrat.”

“And just because Democrat policy positions have shifted so far left that Gavin Newsom — a former progressive San Francisco mayor — is now the benchmark of ‘moderate,’ certainly does not mean Republicans should drift leftward towards big government policies,” McGowan said.

SHASTA RECALL FOR ELECTION DENIER SUPERVISOR GATHERS ENOUGH SIGNATURES

Via Jenavieve Hatch...

The Committee to Recall Kevin Crye obtained the necessary signatures to get the recall on the ballot, the group announced on Tuesday. They had 120 days to gather 4,151 signatures, and ultimately received 4,929.

Crye, one of three hard-right members of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, became the subject of the recall movement last spring after he voted in support of ending the county’s contract with Dominion Voting Systems over unfounded allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Crye, who was elected last fall, supported the county’s pivot to a manual tally (which is not a state-approved voting system) and has been in talks with Trump supporter and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, who Dominion is suing in a $1.3 billion defamation case, about the change.

County Clerk Cathy Darling Allen will present the petition certification to the Board at its next meeting on Oct. 3 before a recall date is scheduled. The committee predicts it will take place on the March 5, 2024 primary election day.

”During his short tenure (Crye) has divided, betrayed, and failed our community,” committee spokesperson Jeff Gorder said Tuesday. “We have shown that actively participating in local government, and following the law, we can make a positive impact with our community.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Immigrants have worked hard for decades to build a welcoming, supportive California — setting an example for other states, some of which are driving by politics of hate. In 2024, we will not let Republican candidates tarnish what we have worked so hard to build... It is leadership and vision that wins the White House, not backward gaslighting, contempt for those in need, and unjust policies that hurt so many.”

- Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles Action Fund Director Fatima Flores-Lagunas, in a statement responding to Wednesday’s planned Republican primary presidential debate taking place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

Best of The Bee:

• The union representing state scientists has officially hit a bargaining roadblock with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and could now potentially organize a strike, via Maya Miller.

• State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, a Bay Area Democrat, announced Tuesday that he’s running for Governor in 2026, joining Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and, possibly, Attorney General Rob Bonta, in the race to replace Gavin Newsom, via Jenavieve Hatch.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills Tuesday to further strengthen California’s gun control measures, drawing praise from anti-gun violence advocates and prompting legal action from firearm rights groups, via Maggie Angst and Lindsey Holden.

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday evening signed a bill into law barring school boards from banning books, instructional materials or curricula labeled as inclusive or diverse, via Andrew Sheeler.