PI endorses Prop 63, urges Californians to bypass NRA stranglehold

Year after year, Americans are horrified by the relentless gun violence in this country – and feel despair that it can’t be stopped. This resignation is a direct result of the stranglehold that the National Rifle Association (NRA) has on legislators, who fear the dire political ramifications of supporting commonsense gun safety measures.

Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom’s Prop 63 provides Californians a unique opportunity to bypass the NRA and to decide for ourselves whether the rights of gun owners outweigh the rights of people to feel safe in their communities.

Prop 63 would make California the first state in the nation to implement point-of-sale background checks for ammunition purchases, implementing the same level of scrutiny as gun purchases. It would also require gun owners to get rid of their large-capacity magazines, and report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement.

On average, 89 people die in the U.S. every day from gun violence, from preschoolers, gun owners, bystanders in mass shootings, and people with mental health struggles who take their own lives. We should be able to send our children off to school, pray in our houses of worship, and walk the streets of our neighborhoods without the fear of gun violence.

A successful gun control initiative in the nation’s largest state could lead not only to voter initiatives in other states, but to greater confidence and courage among policymakers to take up gun safety legislation.