Californication , or the reproduction of ideas emanating from California , is real . When California sneezes , the rest of the United States catches a cold . This is especially true for Western states bordering it . Even the most extreme ideas migrate into other states and regions of the country . Look no further than newly passed laws forbidding the sale of gas-powered vehicles , which , of course , started in California .
Compounding the effect is the seemingly mass exodus of residents from the state . Those citizens are leaving for other Western states and , lately , stalwart sportsman states like Texas and Wyoming . This is not only about the movement of people , but also the ideas they bring with them . Even toned-down versions of these beliefs are far from centrist , and in states with a strong outdoor ethos , they remain extreme .
The answer to this continuing problem lies in the brilliance of our founding generation and the system of checks and balances put in place to protect individual freedom . Where the executive and legislative branches are against us , we must seek redress in the judiciary . For California and other states , this is exactly what we do .
Gov . Newsom has signed numerous bills that strip California gun owners of their constitutionally protected rights . One of the latest , AB 2571 , violates not only the Second Amendment , but also the First , Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments .
Sacrificing California to urban elites with extreme agendas is folly , but this is exactly where things stand — and what might be headed to a state near you very soon .
THE THREAT : AB 2571 BECOMES LAW In his desire to appeal to anti-gun extremists , as well as bolster his standing on the national stage , Gov . Newsom has signed countless bills that violate gun owners ’ constitutionally protected rights . For hunters and sport shooters , this is the lifeline of our entire heritage .
In the Summer 2022 issue of The Sportsmen ’ s Advocate , we highlighted California Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer- Kahan for introducing Assembly Bill 2571 , entitled Legislation to Regulate Manipulative Gun Advertisements Targeting Children . But that wasn ’ t our first public rebuke of the bill .
The Sportsmen ’ s Alliance began alerting our partners , members and social-media followers of the dangers this bill presented when it was still in committee on April 15 . We knew immediately that it would impact any promotion of hunter education and organized shooting events for minors , as well as undermine protected speech as it pertained to firearms , publishing , social media and television broadcasting . We also knew the intent of this legislation : to destroy the recruitment of new hunters and shooters into the fold .
AB 2571 wrongly attempts to piggyback on the idea of laws pertaining to tobacco and alcohol advertising aimed at minors . This is just political eyewash , because unlike cigarette smoking and the consumption of alcohol , firearm use is a legal activity for minors , even in California . But Newsom knows this , so the goal is obviously to chill protected speech to destroy the hunting and shooting community without having to admit it .
Indeed , upon signing the bill into law , Gov . Newsom ignored his state ’ s failure to address illegal gang activity , rising violent crime , mental-health shortcomings and other associated problems and , instead , chose to grandstand while laying the ills of his state ’ s shortcomings at the feet of the firearms industry and everyone associated with it . Politicos such as Gov . Newsom view any affiliation with firearms , regardless of context , as , in their own words , “ indoctrination ”— a powerful and loaded word that carries connotations of malfeasance .
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