Why Newsom’s long shot for federal gun control isn’t panning out

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, June 11. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Why Newsom’s long shot on federal gun control isn’t panning out
• Behind the stunning job losses in Hollywood
• Exclusive first look at the food at Intuit Dome in Inglewood
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Why Newsom’s long shot for federal gun control isn’t panning out

In June 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a U.S. Constitutional amendment that would ban assault weapons, require universal background checks and waiting periods for firearm purchases and raise the minimum age to buy guns from 18 to 21.

“The 28th Amendment will enshrine in the Constitution common sense gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support — while leaving the 2nd Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition,” Newsom said in a statement last year.

The endeavor was a long shot, to put it mildly. It would require two-thirds of the nation’s state legislatures to vote in favor of a constitutional convention — at a time when Republicans control more than half of the statehouses.

So it’s not surprising that a year later, his proposal has gone nowhere.

California stands alone in passing Newsom’s resolution — though some prominent state Democrats opposed it or declined to vote, concerned that calling for a constitutional convention could open the door for Republican-controlled states to pass amendments of their own.

“The inability to advance the gun safety proposal beyond California, even in other Democratic-controlled states, suggests that — so far at least — Newsom’s plan was more flash than substance,” The Times Taryn Luna and Laurel Rosenhall reported this week.

University of Texas law school professor Sanford Levinson told them it’s no surprise Newsom isn’t getting buy-in — even among his Democratic peers.

“He’s swimming upstream in terms of trying to persuade people that a constitutional amendment regarding guns is going to be a very fruitful way of spending their time,” he said.

So how is Newsom taking this lack of progress? He told Taryn and Laurel it was to be expected.

“Come on, no one was naive about this,” Newsom said in a recent interview. “This has been done before, but not recently. It will have its fits and starts. It will have its champions and will have its setbacks.”

Newsom also told them he’s had “dozens of conversations” with other states’ legislative leaders in the past year, but he and his staff did not want to name the states or the leaders.

Opposition to the idea from red states is pretty much a given, but Taryn and Laurel spoke with prominent Democrats in Oregon and Washington state who said they haven’t heard from Newsom and haven’t discussed passing their own resolutions.

According to Newsom’s team, some of the inertia can be chalked up to the chaotic election year, as statehouses focus on local and national races.

Still, Laurel and Taryn note, Newsom’s proposal, even if unsuccessful long-term, could pay off for the governor in other ways.

Data show that states with the lowest rates of gun deaths have stricter gun laws. California leaders often tout the state’s reduction in gun violence as a template for the rest of the U.S.

“Once 50% above average, California’s firearm homicide rate is now 33% below the rest of the United States,” Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta’s office wrote in a release for a recent report examining nine of the state’s Court Protection Orders that restrict access to firearms. “If the firearm mortality rate in the rest of the United States had matched California’s between 2013-2022, there would have been nearly 140,000 fewer firearm-related deaths nationwide in that decade alone.”

Today’s top stories

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood

• Behind the stunning job losses in Hollywood: ‘The audience has moved on.’
• News Analysis: ‘Bad Boys’ proves Black and Latino audiences could save Hollywood — if it lets them.
• Hollywood Teamsters show their pride ahead of contract negotiations.

Crime and courts

• Rebecca Grossman gets 15 years to life for murder of boys killed in crosswalk.
• Police confront pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA.
• A Beverly Hills doctor behind the penile implant is going on medical board probation.
• Nearly 50 people burglarized an AutoZone after a street takeover in Los Angeles on Monday morning, authorities announced.
• L.A. man who sent threatening, antisemitic text messages is sentenced to prison.

Sports

• Dan Hurley turns down Lakers coaching offer, will stay at Connecticut.
• Threat of a Boston NBA title brings out the pettiness in Lakers and Celtics fans.

More big stories

• P-22 lived an epic and tragic life in Griffith Park. Would a new mountain lion fare any better?
• Rev. James Lawson, civil rights leader who led Nashville lunch counter sit-ins and Freedom Rides, dies at 95.
• Amid budget shortfall, lobbyists push for multibillion-dollar climate bond.
• In Europe, even if ‘center is holding,’ far right ascends.
• George Lopez walkout prompts apology from central California casino: ‘Quite a shock.’
• Emmys 2024: Comedy series predictions start with ‘The Bear.’
• Stranded on a remote California beach, this windsurfer used rocks to spell ‘HELP.’
• A veteran Republican congressman’s reign in Riverside County is under siege.
• Apple announces deal with OpenAI. Will it be a game-changer?
• In a city known for traffic, LAX is a standout for its gridlock. Can it be fixed?
• Mysterious sonic booms rattle the SoCal coast, and officials say expect more from SpaceX.

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Commentary and opinions

• LZ Granderson: A Trump running mate who praises Jim Crow? That’s a red flag.
• Editorial: L.A., we’ve got to talk about your meth problem.
• Commentary: Bernard Kamungo is a shining example of what a kid from a refugee camp can accomplish.

Today’s great reads

A sign at the entrance of Bolinas counts the days the small coastal town has been without its post office.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Dear USPS: This California town wants its post office back. In this artsy little town in west Marin County — a haven for poets and painters, writers and actors — the loss of their post office hit hard. The 1,500 citizens of ZIP Code 94924 have fought to get it back with their most cherished tool: creativity.

Other great reads

• Inside the first L.A. Times subscriber hike in Pasadena where 20 hikers joined reporter Deborah Vankin.
• Will a diet that’s good for the planet also help you live longer? Here’s the evidence.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

Going out

• 🍿Exclusive first look at the food at Intuit Dome, including Steph Curry’s favorite popcorn.
• 👨🏻‍🎨 Goya gave Frankenstein’s monster his Hollywood face. Now this museum shows the artist’s larger power.
• 🎼 A new musical at the La Jolla Playhouse shows Johnny and June Carter Cash as you’ve never seen them before.

Staying in

• 📖 When Questlove says hip-hop is ‘history,’ he means it in more ways than one.
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for Willa Jean’s lemon cornmeal muffins.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! We’re running low on submissions. Send us photos that scream California and we may feature them in an edition of Essential California.

Dan River Wilson dances to the music as he parades solo along Hollywood Boulevard at the 2024 L.A. Pride Parade.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Robert Gauthier from the 2024 L.A. Pride Parade.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor and Saturday reporter
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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