Last July, when California Gov. Gavin Newsom was gifted a handgun by a podcast host, many gun owners had to laugh. Newsom was, at the time, trying to paint himself as a Second Amendment supporter, despite an entire career of trying to ban every kind of firearm he could.
Gun owners saw right through it, of course, and many are now laughing at recent reports that because of the laws he has foisted upon Californians, Newsom still hasn’t been able to get the gun home.
As background, Newsom was given a handgun by podcast host Shawn Ryan. And Newsom was thrilled with the California-compliant Sig Sauer P365 X-Macro Ryan gave him, saying, “I gotta report this gift, man. This is too cool. The fact that you’d give me this.”
According to a New York Post report, Newsom filed his mandatory statement of economic interest on March 18, where he listed the pistol and wrote in the comments that the gun is “currently held by a licensed firearm dealer, and not in the Governor’s possession.”
To actually obtain the gun, Newsom would have to have it transferred from a licensed dealer in Tennessee to an authorized dealer in California, complete the paperwork, undergo background checks and wait 10 days. Newsom would also have to pass the Firearm Safety Certificate test with a score of at least 75% and purchase a certified lockbox or other Department of Justice-approved safety device.
The situation is so ironic that the gun-rights group Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) issued a news release saying it is “only justice” that Newsom has been entrapped by his own gun-control laws.
“Gov. Newsom might use this as a learning experience,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said. “That is, if he actually wants the pistol. Last year, he told Ryan that he is not really ‘anti-gun,’ even though everything he has said and done in office has certainly pointed in that direction.”
Gottlieb then chided Newsom, badgering the governor about why it is taking him so long to get his beloved pistol home to California.
“We’re beginning to wonder if Gavin is worried he might not pass the firearms safety test, or get through the background check,” Gottlieb continued. “What’s the holdup, Governor Newsom? Just think about the future. You can campaign for the White House like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, telling everyone you’re a gun owner, and then you could say you were treated like a criminal, the way every other California citizen is treated when they want to purchase a gun.”
In the end, Gottlieb sent one last jab Newsom’s way concerning the Sig he was gifted but has never taken possession of.
“C’mon, Gavin,” Gottlieb concluded. “It’s time to get your gat.”
