He smiled, praised the gift as “fabulous,” and declared he’s “not anti-gun at all.”
But off-camera, the gun stayed behind in Tennessee — because California’s gun control laws are too convoluted for even the governor himself to follow.
You can’t make this stuff up.
After years of championing gun control in California, Governor Newsom has found himself tangled in the very web he helped spin.
The gift from Shawn Ryan — a compact P365, one of the most popular concealed carry pistols in the nation — was enthusiastically received on camera.
But after the cameras shut off, Newsom reportedly left the firearm behind and admitted, through his team, that his own state’s laws made it too complicated to bring it home.
Turns out, signing 70+ gun control bills has consequences.
Assemblyman DeMaio: “Newsom’s Own Laws Trapped Him”
California State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio wasted no time in calling out the hypocrisy.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and California AG Rob Bonta, DeMaio requested official legal guidance for the governor on how to legally accept the gift — satirically offering to help Newsom avoid violating his own draconian gun control laws.
DeMaio’s statement was scathing:
“It would be an absolute shame if Governor Gavin Newsom inadvertently violated one of his own anti-gun laws – but the extraordinary hassle he now faces proves not only that he is a hypocrite but that the draconian gun laws he imposed on regular Californians should be scrapped.”
And what would Newsom have needed to do just to receive the handgun?
- Pass a background check
- Obtain a Firearm Safety Certificate
- Complete a DROS (Dealer Record of Sale) submission
- Undergo a 10-day waiting period
- Sign a safe storage affidavit
- Pay special taxes
- Figure out how to legally import the firearm into California without triggering a felony under the very rules he helped impose
Quite the to-do list for someone who claims to support the Second Amendment.
“I’m Not Anti-Gun” — But I’ll Ban Glocks and Back a 28th Amendment to Kill the Second Amendment
During his interview, Newsom claimed, “I’m not anti-gun,” and that he respects the right to bear arms.
He supports California’s AB 1127, a de facto Glock ban targeting pistols based on their potential to be misused with illegal conversion kits.
He proposed a 28th Amendment to effectively rewrite the Second Amendment into irrelevance.
He has backed everything from sin taxes on guns and ammo to advertising bans so egregious even the 9th Circuit couldn’t uphold them.
And now, he can’t even accept a lawfully gifted handgun without consulting legal counsel.
If Newsom’s vision of gun rights means needing a legal team and a full bureaucratic roadmap to simply take possession of a pistol, then his claim to support the Second Amendment is as hollow as the Hollywood scripts he so desperately emulates.
Tyranny by Red Tape
Newsom’s real legacy is clear: weaponize bureaucracy to destroy gun rights one regulation at a time. Not through outright bans, but through insurmountable hurdles designed to choke off the right to self-defense in slow motion.
And now, the trap he set for California gun owners has caught its own architect.
Governor Newsom may not have taken home that SIG P365 — but he’s already armed with the most dangerous weapon of all: an anti-gun agenda wrapped in double-speak and red tape.
Fortunately, groups like Texas Gun Rights and leaders like Assemblyman DeMaio are making sure that gun owners across the country see Newsom for what he is — not just a hypocrite, but a symbol of what happens when politicians pretend to support your rights while working tirelessly to dismantle them.
Let this serve as a lesson: when you build a legal minefield to ensnare gun owners, eventually, you step on one yourself.
