{"id":2081134,"date":"2023-10-27T09:53:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T13:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/are-california-leaders-willfully-blind-on-the-need-for-guns-against-terrorists\/"},"modified":"2023-10-27T09:57:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T13:57:53","slug":"are-california-leaders-willfully-blind-on-the-need-for-guns-against-terrorists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/are-california-leaders-willfully-blind-on-the-need-for-guns-against-terrorists\/","title":{"rendered":"Are California leaders ignoring the need for guns against terrorists?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fare-california-leaders-willfully-blind-on-the-need-for-guns-against-terrorists%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2081134&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Commentary<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s na\u00efve. \u2063And there\u2019s\u2064 willfully blind.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In my Oct. 17 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/california-gun-control-makes-it-harder-to-fight-back-against-hamas-like-terrorism-5512090\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">article<\/a> in The Epoch Times,\u200d \u201cCalifornia Gun Control Makes It Harder to \u2063Fight Back Against Hamas-Like Terrorism,\u201d \u2063I pointed \u2064out Gov. \u2064Gavin Newsom was na\u00efve\u2062 for \u201ccriticizing\u2064 Judge Roger Benitez\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/california-gun-laws-highcapacity-magazines-ban-5e16caf66a17964b292d647e432ca6d8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ruling<\/a> that day striking down California\u2019s ban on\u2063 magazines holding more than 10 rounds.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/california-gun-control-makes-it-harder-to-fight-back-against-hamas-like-terrorism-5512090?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>California Gun Control Makes\u200c It Harder to Fight Back Against Hamas-Like Terrorism<\/h3>\n<p>      <\/a><br \/>\n      <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">10\/17\/2023<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/california-is-laboratory-for-implementing-gun-control-agenda-nationwide-says-lawyer-5500634?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>California Is Laboratory for Implementing Gun Control Agenda Nationwide, Says Lawyer<\/h3>\n<p>      <\/a><br \/>\n      <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">9\/29\/2023<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Mr. Newsom branded them \u201cweapons of war.\u201d I \u2064pointed out the Oct. 7 terrorist\u200b attack by Hamas against Israel showed how Americans\u2019 Second Amendment \u2063right <strong>to keep and bear arms<\/strong> \u2064 is more crucial than ever.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Benitez\u2063 on \u200bOct. 19 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynews.com\/2023\/10\/25\/judge-benitez-defends-gun-rights-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">again<\/a> struck down a California gun-control law as unconstitutional. This time it was a ban on so-called \u201cassault weapons.\u201d On the same day, Mr.\u2062 Newsom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/2023\/10\/19\/governor-newsom-statement-on-u-s-district-court-decision-invalidating-californias-assault-weapons-ban\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">attacked<\/a> the new\u200c decision, again using his favorite phrase, \u201cweapons of war.\u201d He said, \u201cCalifornians\u2019 elected representatives decided almost 35 years ago that weapons of war have no place in our communities. Today, Judge Benitez decided that he knows better, public safety be damned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is appealing both cases, also on Oct. 19 <a href=\"https:\/\/oag.ca.gov\/news\/press-releases\/attorney-general-bonta-appeals-misguided-district-court-decision-assault-weapons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">used<\/a> \u200b the same phrase:\u200d \u201cWeapons of war have no place on California\u2019s streets. This\u2063 has been state law in California for\u200d decades, and we will continue to fight for our authority to keep our citizens safe from firearms that cause mass casualties. In the meantime, assault weapons remain\u2062 unlawful for purchase, transfer, or possession in \u200cCalifornia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In\u2064 his decision, Judge Benitez always\u200c uses \u201cweapons of war\u201d inside quote marks, and pointed out, \u201cOther than their \u200clooks (the \u2064State calls them \u200c\u2018features\u2019 \u2064or \u2018accessories\u2019) these prohibited rifles are virtually \u2063the same as other lawfully possessed rifles. They have the same minimum overall length, they use the same triggers, they\u2063 have the same \u200bbarrels, and they can fire the same ammunition, \u2064from the same magazines, at\u2064 the same rate of fire, and\u2063 at the same velocities, as other rifles. What is it, \u2062then, that animates the State\u2019s criminalization of possessing certain rifles as \u2018assault\u200d weapons\u2019? \u200bIt is that \u2062similar rifles have been used in some mass shootings and that by virtue of this law, the legislature hoped to keep these\u2062 modern weapons out of the hands of mass shooters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At issue is last year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_York_State_Rifle_%26_Pistol_Association,_Inc._v._Bruen#:~:text=In%20a%206%E2%80%933%20decision,guaranteed%20by%20the%20Second%20Amendment.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bruen<\/a> decision, in which the U.S. \u200cSupreme\u200b Court, among other things, clearly affirmed\u200b an individual right for\u200d a person to bear arms in public, allowing only \u2063reasonable\u200d exceptions, such as banning carrying guns in a courtroom. Mr. Bonta cited the case, \u201cThe Supreme Court was clear that Bruen \u2063did not\u2062 create a \u2063regulatory straitjacket for states.\u200d Once again, this district court issued a dangerous and misguided decision and I will \u200bwork vigorously to reverse it on appeal. We will not stop in our efforts \u2063to protect the safety of communities to live without fear of becoming victims of gun violence, while at the same time respecting the Second \u200cAmendment rights of \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawsuits-mount-against-new-mexico-governor-suspending-gun-rights-with-public-health-order\/\" title=\"Lawsuits pile up against NM Governor for suspending gun rights under 'public health' order.\">law-abiding \u2062gun owners<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>  \u2064 An AR-15 rifle at FT3 tactical shooting range in Stanton,\u2062 Calif., on May 3, 2021. (John Fredricks\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>But Judge Benitez dealt with that position in his decision, directly\u2062 quoting\u2064 Bruen, \u201cThe Second\u2062 Amendment, the Court said, \u2018is the \u200dvery product of an interest balancing by \u200dthe people and it surely elevates above \u2064all other interests the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens \u2062to use arms \u2063for self-defense.\u2019 It is \u2018this balance\u2014struck by the traditions of the American people\u2014that demands our unqualified deference.\u2019 The American tradition\u2062 is rich and deep\u200d in protecting a citizen\u2019s enduring right\u200c to keep and bear common arms like rifles, shotguns, and pistols.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, among the \u2062American tradition of firearm ownership, there is nothing like California\u2019s prohibition on rifles, shotguns, and handguns based on their looks or attributes. Here, the \u2018assault\u2064 weapon\u2019 prohibition has no historical pedigree and it is extreme. Even today, neither Congress nor most states impose such prohibitions on modern semiautomatic arms. In contrast, laws that punish criminal \u2063acts committed with any gun, like the \u200bcrime of assault with a deadly weapon, remain perfectly constitutional. Those\u2064 criminal laws \u200care not \u200bat issue here.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Gov. Newsom in\u200c Israel<\/h2>\n<p>Ironically, shortly after the Benitez decision and Mr. Newsom\u2019s attack on it, the governor\u200c traveled to Israel on his way to China, as I reported in my Oct. 25 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/gov-newsom-junket-appeases-communist-china-5516742\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">article<\/a>, \u201cNewsom Junket Appeases Communist China.\u201d He properly decried the Hamas attack\u200b that, \u2062according to the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/livecoverage\/israel-hamas-war-news-gaza-palestinians\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">estimates<\/a>, killed 1,400 \u200dpeople, 31 \u200cof \u2064them Americans, and \u200cin which 224 hostages were taken.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>  California Gov. Gavin \u200dNewsom visits Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, \u2063Israel on Oct. 20, 2023. \u2064(Courtesy of the Office of the Governor of California)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>The\u200b Israel Defense Forces are an excellent\u200b military, but it can\u2019t protect every \u2062home. Unfortunately, Israel had strong\u2064 gun\u200b control, leaving its people disarmed. <a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/2023\/10\/prophetic-september-20th-2023-article-in-the-jerusalem-post-israelis-should-carry-guns-on-yom-kippur-police-say-with-hamas-surprise-attack-now-israeli-minister-of-national-security-itamar-b\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According<\/a> to gun scholar \u200dJohn Lott, only 3 percent\u200c of adult Israelis held gun permits, down from 9 percent a \u200cdecade ago. Perhaps Mr. Newsom heard that during his Oct. 20 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/california-gov-newsom-top-biden-2024-surrogate-makes-high-profile-trip-israel-china\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stop<\/a> in Israel on his way to China. In America, outside of California and New York, about 10 percent of adults own\u2064 firearms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>On Sept. 20, just \u206417 days\u2062 before the attack, the Jerusalem Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/israel-news\/defense-news\/article-759794\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">warned<\/a>, \u201cIsraelis \u2063should carry \u200dguns\u200c on\u2064 Yom Kippur, police say.\u201d Yom \u2064Kippur was Sept. 24\u201325. \u2064Fatefully, on\u2064 Oct. 7, Israelis were\u200b celebrating the holiday \u2062of Simchat\u2063 Torah.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Then on Oct. 8, the day after the attack, Israeli Minister of \u200bNational Security Itamar Ben-Gvir <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/itamarbengvir\/status\/1711094677401653385\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced<\/a>, \u201cToday I directed\u2064 the Firearms Licensing Division to \u200dgo on an emergency operation \u2062in order to allow as many\u2064 citizens\u2063 as possible to arm themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Terrorists in the US?<\/h2>\n<p>Mr. Newsom and Mr. Bonta may have been na\u00efve before Oct. 7.\u200c Now they might be willfully blind. Now Californians clearly\u200c need \u201cweapons\u2063 of war.\u201d Because the\u200d war could erupt any minute right in \u2062their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>On Oct. 25, Mark Tapscott <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/hamas-hezbollah-terrorists-are-on-us-soil-waiting-for-irans-green-light-to-attack-house-hearing-told-5512380\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> in\u2062 the Epoch\u200d Times: \u201cU.S. Department \u200bof Homeland Security\u200b (DHS) officials \u200dmust assume \u2064that hundreds \u200dof Iranian-funded and -directed terrorist \u200boperatives with Hamas, Hezbollah, and similar groups are in the United States and can carry out lethal attacks across this country as soon as\u200b Iran gives them the green light, according to witnesses who testified at an Oct. \u206425 House Committee on Homeland Security <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=d671G-ccUOQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe\u2064 committee\u2019s chairman, Rep.\u200c Mark Green (R-Tenn.), asked former Ambassador Nathan Sales, \u2018What \u2064guarantees do we have\u2019 that Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorists \u2064aren&#8217;t among the more than\u200b 1.7 million illegal immigrant \u2018gotaways\u2019 that have crossed the southern U.S. border since 2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018I\u200d don\u2019t think we \u200dhave any guarantees, Mr. Chairman. \u2062I think we \u2064have to assume the \u2064worst,\u2019 \u2063Mr. Sales replied. \u2018We know that Iranian-linked terrorists have been found in the United States.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe pointed out that, prior to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist \u2062attack from\u200d Gaza on Israel, \u2018128 Hezbollah operatives have \u2063been arrested\u200b here over the years by the FBI.\u2019 Hezbollah, like Hamas, is funded, equipped, and directed by\u2063 Iran\u2019s radical Islamic regime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Within that population of however many millions or hundreds of thousands of known gotaways,\u200d we should not \u2063assume \u200bthat\u200b they are all perfectly clean,\u2019 Mr. \u2064Sales said.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>  California\u2063 Attorney General Rob\u200c Bonta speaks during a press conference in Sacramento, Calif., on Feb.\u200b 1, 2023. (Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Who\u2063 Will \u200bBe Responsible?<\/h2>\n<p>God forbid such an attack occurs in California. But \u200bif it does, it could be argued that both Mr. Newsom and Mr. Bonta would \u2062bear some responsibility. They not only have backed \u200bPresident Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/limbaugh-the-tyrannical-lefts-sinister-conspiracy-to-silence-conservatives\/\" title=\"LIMBAUGH: The Tyrannical Left\u2019s Sinister Conspiracy To Silence Conservatives\">open-borders policy<\/a>, but have backed\u2062 coddling illegal aliens already here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>On Sept. 24, 2021, Mr. Newsom released a \u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/2021\/09\/24\/governor-newsom-signs-suite-of-legislation-to-support-californias-immigrant-communities-and-remove-outdated-term-alien-from-state-codes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> on\u2062 his signing a \u201cseries of bills\u201d: \u201cGovernor Newsom\u2019s California\u2063 Comeback Plan makes\u200c historic\u200d investments regardless of immigration status, offering an additional $1,000 in stimulus checks to undocumented families through the expanded Golden State \u200cStimulus. &#8230; \u2062The\u2062 California Comeback Plan also enacts a first-in-the-nation expansion of\u2063 Medi-Cal to undocumented Californians over 50 years old,\u200b providing access\u2064 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/are-california-leaders-willfully-blind-on-the-need-for-guns-against-terrorists\/\" title=\"Are California leaders ignoring the need for guns against terrorists?\">critical health \u200ccare services<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Such giveaways\u200b also go\u200b to the \u201cgotaways,\u201d subsidizing those who\u200b have come here in violation of our laws, thus encouraging others to come here illegally. And some of those \u201cgotaways,\u201d as Ambassador \u200cSales said, well could be Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists\u2014receiving California taxpayers\u2019 money and using it to buy \u2064\u201cweapons of war.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion: Is California \u200bSafe?<\/h2>\n<p>So the Newsom-Bonta\u2062 plan\u200b is to disarm Californians, even as they use\u2064 Californian\u2019s tax money to subsidize potential terrorists. They brand such self-defense tools \u201cweapons of war,\u201d\u2063 but what happens when\u200b the \u201cwar\u201d comes to your neighborhood? It might seem California is a safe\u200b place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>But Israelis thought they were safe, too, on \u2062Oct. 6. Israel has found out the hard \u2064way that, \u2062as \u2063a free country, it needs to trust its own law-abiding citizens to arm themselves against the lawless, whether common criminals or terrorists. \u200cThat\u2019s a lesson\u2062 Mr. Bonta and Mr.\u200d Newsom need to learn.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n  <em>Views expressed in this article\u2063 are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect\u2062 the views of The Epoch Times.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> Why do Gov. Newsom and AG Bonta ignore the constitutional \u2064rights of law-abiding citizens when \u200dit\u2063 comes to the Second Amendment?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Utmost respect.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In essence, Gov. Newsom and AG Bonta are willfully\u2064 blind to the constitutional\u200d rights of law-abiding citizens.\u2062 They\u2063 ignore the fact that the Second Amendment is not just about hunting \u200dor sport shooting, \u2062but about the fundamental right to self-defense. The right to keep and bear arms is\u2064 a cornerstone of our democracy, and it is enshrined in the Constitution\u200d for a reason.<\/p>\n<p>By\u2064 branding \u2063certain firearms\u200d as \u201cweapons of\u200d war,\u201d they \u200battempt to \u200cvillainize responsible gun owners and imply that these guns\u2062 have\u2062 no legitimate purpose in civilian hands. However, as Judge Benitez points \u2063out, these so-called \u201cassault weapons\u201d are functionally no different from other rifles that are legally possessed. Banning them does not make society any safer; it only \u2062infringes on the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In my article for The Epoch Times titled &#8220;California Gun Control Hinders Fight Against Terrorism,&#8221; I criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom&#8217;s naive response to Judge Roger Benitez&#8217;s ruling. Newsom&#8217;s criticism of lifting the ban on high-capacity magazines shows a willful blindness to the importance of self-defense against Hamas-like terrorism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1801,"featured_media":2081135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2081134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1801"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2081134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2081135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2081134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2081134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2081134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}