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California residents may soon be launching a recall against gun control-supportive lawmakers, borrowing a page from similar campaigns in Colorado.
Gun rights advocates are considering launching a recall election against multiple Democratic-elected officials after Governor Jerry Brown signed 11 gun-related bills into law. Brown did veto seven of the gun bills, and was applauded by gun rights supporters for doing so, but those same gun rights groups say several of the bills he signed still cross the line.
Among the bills signed was one that makes California the first state to ban the use of all lead ammunition for hunting. Another new law requires safety certificates for the purchase of all firearms, including rifles and shotguns. Still another new law, according to the NRA, “bans the sale of parts and repair kits capable of creating or converting a magazine to a capacity to hold greater than ten rounds.”
The California recall movement has gained steam after supporters witnessed the success of a similarly motivated election in Colorado. As previously reported by Off The Grid News, two Colorado lawmakers who supported stringent gun control laws were voted out of office during the September special election.
To get a recall measure on the California ballot, gun rights supporters must get a number of signatures equal to 20 percent of voter turnout in the last election.
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“As soon as the results came in Colorado, our phones started ringing,” political consultant Jennifer Kerns told the San Francisco Chronicle. She helped the successful Colorado campaigns. “Until then, a lot of people thought California was a lost state [on the gun rights front]. But Colorado showed them it doesn’t have to be.”
At least for now, Democratic Governor Jerry Brown will not be a California recall target. According to Second Amendment rights organizers, the potential $2 million price tag associated with such a signature effort would just be too great. When a gubernatorial recall is attempted, a greater number of voter signatures are required and must be gathered statewide instead of from specific political districts.
Gun Owners of California Executive Director Sam Paredes said the targets of the California recall election are going to “squeal like stuck pigs and say this is no way to run a government — but what they’re doing is no way to run a government,” he told the newspaper. The Second Amendment group boasts more than 15,000 members and is spearheading the gun rights recall movement. Paredes also stated that if the group goes forward with helping to lead the recall, they will be smart about it. That means not going after everyone who voted for the bills.
“We are doing research to determine if and how a recall would be plausible,” reads a message on the Gun Owners of California website. “We must consider the districts in which we could have a chance to significantly damage, if not win, a recall election. Keep in mind, as long as we hurt them, by depleting their wallets and distracting them from their priorities, enough to scare them just a little bit, then we can consider a recall election a victory, even if the outcome does not result in our candidate winning.”
There are approximately 40 million known guns in California. That statistics is equal to about half of the households in the state. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and gun control group spent about $3 million in advertising campaigns during the Colorado recall election. Gun rights groups were outspent by a margin of 5 to 1, but still prevailed. The National Rifle Association also poured a significant amount of money into the recall election, and is expected to contribute to California pro-Second Amendment efforts as well.
