Governor Newsom criticizes Supreme Court open carry decision as ‘shameful’

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling on a New York concealed carry law as “reckless” and and “shameful” while promising California would strengthen its existing law.

The 6-3 ruling by the court struck down a New York law that placed strict restrictions on carrying concealed firearms in public for self defense, finding its requirement that applicants seeking a concealed carry license demonstrate a special need for self-defense is unconstitutional.

Newsom initially expressed his feeling on the Supreme Court ruling on his personal Twitter account, posting shortly before 8:30 a.m., calling the ruling “shameful” and saying it was a “dark day in America.”

He also called the ruling “a dangerous decision from a court hell bent on pushing a radical ideological agenda and infringing on the rights of states to protect our citizens from being gunned down in our streets, schools, and churches.”  

The governor’s office later issued a press release stating that Newsom and his administration would do everything they could to make California’s public-carry law stronger.

“While this reckless decision erases a commonsense gun safety law that existed for decades, California anticipated this moment. Our Administration has been working closely with the Attorney General and the legislature for months,” the statement read. “Our state is ready with a bill that will be heard next week to update and strengthen our public-carry law and make it consistent with the Supreme Court ruling, just as Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh said states like California are free to do.”

“But make no mistake: this is a radical decision,” the statement continued. “Today’s Court thinks that gun regulations should be frozen in time, and that if there wasn’t a similar law in existence in the 1700s or 1800s, then a state can’t pass it now, no matter how important it is to protect people from the modern horror of gun violence.”

Newsom said his administration is committed to preserving safety for Californians and noted he had 16 new gun safety bills he was ready to sign, “including a bill that will allow individuals to sue gun makers and distributors for violating certain gun laws.” 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta also was critical of the decision, saying Thursday was “a sad day for our nation and a setback for public safety.”