New ad for California gun control campaign focuses on deadly Orlando rampage and other mass shootings
New ad for California gun control campaign focuses on deadly Orlando rampage and other mass shootings
The campaign behind Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed ballot initiative to toughen California’s gun laws released a video Thursday focused on the deadly assault that left 49 dead at an Orlando nightclub Sunday and other mass shootings in the U.S.
The video, which is running only online and through social media outlets, includes news footage from shootings in Sandy Hook, Columbine, Virginia Tech and San Bernardino.
As the images appear on the screen, Newsom urges voters to support the November ballot initiative and take on the National Rifle Assn., saying “we are not innocent bystanders.”
“And I’ll say this to the NRA: You can intimidate politicians, we’ve seen that. Hell, you’ve been effective. But you can’t intimidate the public,” he says.
Newsom’s proposed initiative, called the Safety for All Act, would require background checks for ammunition purchases and ban possession of large-capacity magazines.
A package of bills that would impose similar new gun restrictions is currently winding its way through the California Legislature.
A coalition of gun rights advocates also recently produced videos opposing Newsom’s measure.
One of them shows a woman pulling out a gun as a man attacks her in a dark parking garage — but there are no bullets in her gun. The video ends with the message: “Take away our rights. Take away our life.”
That video also appears online and on social media sites.
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