A resolution to support Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed gun-control amendment to the U.S. Constitution was defeated by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, with members evenly divided 2-2.
Board Chair Nora Vargas and Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, who authored the resolution in support of Newsom's "Right to Safety" amendment proposal, voted yes. Their colleagues Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond voted no.
Newsom's proposal would add an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would raise the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21, mandate universal background checks, ban assault rifles for civilians and impose a waiting period for all gun purchases. Newsom stressed when he proposed the idea in August that it would not impact the Second Amendment.
Analysts have given Newsom's proposal little chance of success, since it would require the backing of 33 other states to call for a constitutional convention to even consider the idea.
Before the supervisors' vote Tuesday, Lawson-Remer said San Diego families feel the effects of gun violence "every single time there's a tragedy."
In a statement afterward, Lawson-Remer faulted Anderson and Desmond for voting down "common-sense actions to reduce gun violence" for the second time in three months.
"It is ridiculous to think that two parents cannot support efforts that would help protect children, their families and make our neighborhoods safer," she said. "Passing this resolution would have given our residents comfort in knowing we are supportive of the Constitution's Second Amendment."
In late July, the board failed to advance recommendations from a study on gun violence, with supervisors again deadlocking on a 2-2 vote, again with Anderson and Desmond opposed.
The study, prepared by Health Assessment and Research for Communities, offered statistics, public input, key findings and methods aimed at reducing gun violence, including safe gun storage.
During Tuesday's meeting, Desmond stressed the need to focus on the mental health crisis — and not law-abiding citizens who own guns.
"This is more laws on top of laws on top of laws," Desmond said. "Guns are not violence — people are."
Desmond said he didn't want to diminish gun-related violence, including school shootings, but mentioned 70% of the county's gun-related deaths were suicides.
He also mentioned that the San Diego Union-Tribune recently reported that the number of 72-hour holds for those experiencing a mental health issue has increased two-fold.
During a public hearing, most people who spoke were opposed to the resolution backing Newsom's amendment.
Michael Schwartz, executive director of San Diego County Gun Owners, said the idea that a 28th Amendment would strengthen the Second Amendment is "totally false and untrue" and would take rights away.
Schwartz said he was "here to talk for the 1 million to 3 million people per year who use a firearm to stop a violent crime," depending which study is referenced. Further, raising the federal minimum age to purchase a gun "is simply taking away the civil rights of adults under the age of 21."
Another man, who said he retired from the U.S. Navy Reserves last month, tied the right to own a gun to concerns surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border. He also gestured to sheriff's deputies providing security during board meetings and at one point said, "You have the luxury of being in a (safe) space, and we have the right to protect ourselves."
Amendment supporter Kevin Stevenson said he's not anti-gun but said the Second Amendment specifically mentions a "well-regulated militia," which doesn't mean that any "rando off the street can have a military arsenal."
Stevenson, a county resident, also noted that every country in the world has mentally ill people, but not mass shootings.
The board has lacked a fifth supervisor since the departure of Nathan Fletcher, who represented District 4 but resigned in May in the wake of sexual assault allegations.
District 4 residents will choose between contenders Monica Montgomery Steppe and Amy Reichert in a Nov. 7 special election.
