California likes to lecture the rest of the country about being the model for “common-sense” gun laws, but the headlines keep telling a different story — families mourning children in Stockton and shoppers shot at mall entrances while Sacramento pats itself on the back. The reality is ugly: even as state officials trumpet top rankings for gun safety, violent crime and heartbreaking mass shootings continue to terrorize communities.
On November 29, a child’s birthday party in the Stockton area turned into a massacre, leaving multiple people dead — including young children — and scores injured in what local reports say may have been a targeted street-rival attack. The devastation at that family event underlines a cruel truth: policies that focus on restrictions for law-abiding citizens do nothing to stop criminals who ignore the law.
A near-simultaneous example of the law’s impotence came at a busy Bay Area mall, where a 17-year-old already on probation allegedly opened fire, injuring several people and forcing shoppers to flee in panic. When someone on probation for a firearm offense can still wind up shooting in a crowded public place, we have to ask whether laws on the books are being enforced — or whether they’re just political theater.
Instead of fixing enforcement, Sacramento doubles down on new restrictions: a federal appeals court has just revived California’s controversial ammunition background-check law, signaling more layers of regulation that will mostly hamper legal owners. Democrats promise safety while piling on red tape that punishes responsible citizens; meanwhile, criminals and gang members keep acting with impunity.
Even California’s own Attorney General is warning about a rise in accidental shootings involving children — a problem tied to illegal access and poor storage practices — yet the response from state leaders keeps centering on new bans rather than commonsense enforcement and parental accountability. If we really care about keeping kids safe, we should enforce existing laws, invest in education about responsible storage, and hold adults accountable when guns are left where children can find them.
Governor Newsom’s office will tout studies showing California’s overall gun-death rate is lower than many states, and that’s fine as far as it goes, but averages hide the neighborhoods being torn apart by gang violence and lawlessness. Politicians love rankings and press releases; voters want safe streets, functioning courts, and prosecutors who actually lock up violent repeat offenders instead of letting them cycle back onto the streets.
Conservative common sense offers actual solutions: restore respect for law and order, empower local police to pursue violent criminals without political interference, reform juvenile justice so violent minors face real consequences, and focus mental-health and family-support resources where they’ll do the most good. We should also demand secure schools, tougher penalties for out-of-state traffickers, and vigorous enforcement of the laws that already exist rather than endless new mandates that only burden the law-abiding.
Americans who work hard and play by the rules deserve leaders who put safety first, not soundbites or virtue-signaling legislation that changes nothing on the ground. It’s time for voters to stop letting politicians hide behind slogans and start demanding accountability, enforcement, and real public-safety solutions that protect families instead of punishing responsible gun owners.
