If you’ve been following this website for a while, you likely already know our feelings about California Governor Gavin Newsom. He’s an absolute politician (with the negative connotations of that term) who hasn’t seemed to have found a left-leaning cause that he doesn’t vigorously support. And, yes, that includes pushing for more and stricter gun control. Needless to say, I’m not a Newsom fan.
Having said that, though, Newsom did something recently that surprised me and will likely surprise you. No, Newsom didn’t change his stance on gun control. That kind of common sense stance on the issue (which, being true common sense, is the exact opposite of what is pushed by those who say that they want “common sense gun control”) may always be too much for Newsom.
Still, what Newsom said recently in support of a group that often is advocates for gun rights instead of gun control for law-abiding citizens was completely unexpected. Travis Gillmore writes,
California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter on July 26 to officials in Oakland requesting a change to policies that prevent police from chasing suspects, following up efforts to improve public safety in the city.
“I am mindful of the sensitivities around vehicle pursuits, which can be dangerous to police, suspects, and innocent bystanders,” Newsom wrote. “But there is also extreme danger to the public in allowing criminals to act with impunity, and the reckless driving associated with sideshows and other criminal acts is a significant threat to public safety—as witnessed regularly by the public in viral videos and news coverage.”
Addressed to Mayor Sheng Thao, City Council members, and the Oakland Police Commission, the letter noted that cooperation is needed to create a safer community.
Citing a discrepancy in how jurisdictions handle vehicle pursuits for felonies and other crimes, the governor said Oakland is an “outlier by imposing exceptional restrictions” on the police department by only allowing chases for “violent forcible crimes.”
Those policies mean local police can’t pursue suspects believed to be involved in many felony activities or any misdemeanors—including those where violence is involved and for intoxicated drivers—which is “contributing to Oakland’s public safety challenges,” according to the letter.
As a result, California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers have observed some criminals taking advantage of the situation and “fleeing with impunity,” the governor wrote.
If it weren’t in print, I would have trouble believing it. Newsom is actually advocating for law enforcement to (gasp!) enforce the law by going after criminals instead of going the route that political leftists have been advocating, which has been to let criminals commit crimes over and over and over again.
This is just completely out of character for Newsom and his political cronies.
Now, whether Newsom is simply trying to pay attention to the political winds because people in California are getting sick and tired of criminals getting favorable treatment instead of law-abiding citizens or whether there is some other reason that Newsom is changing his tune on this, I don’t know. I can’t say why he sent that letter.
All I can say is that it would be in the best interests of the people of California if Newsom continued in that direction with his political policies. After all, the people of California deserve some relief from the insanity of leftist politics, too.