California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in a recent interview, calling Florida’s new concealed-carry law clear evidence that Republicans “don’t care about kids.”
During an interview with MSNBC’s “Inside With Jen Psaki” in Montgomery, Alabama, Newsom told the former White House press secretary: “If they do, they will ban these weapons of war. They will have background checks that require common sense.
When many are begging leaders for take action against gun violenceDeSantis has moved to make it easier to carry firearms in the Sunshine State.
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Days after three children and three adults were killed at a Nashville, Tennessee, elementary school in March, DeSantis signed legislation allowing Floridians to carry concealed firearms without a permit.
The Republican, who reportedly wants to run for president in 2024 against Donald Trump, celebrated the law in a press release, declaring, “Constitutional Carry is in the books.”
Newsom warned that there would be consequences for actions that many people oppose, saying DeSantis was “scared of death, scared of people, scared of people.”
The Democrat added: “I think the majority of NRA members probably oppose that position.”
A March survey from the University of North Florida found that 62% of Republican respondents in the state opposed the concealed carry bill “strongly or somewhat.” Overall, only 21% of Florida respondents indicated support for the measure.
Newsom told the Republican’s Psaki, “He claims to care about life when the No. 1 cause of death for our children is guns? It’s embarrassing.” (In 2021, the CDC reports that 19% of child deaths in the US are due to firearms.)
DeSantis and Newsom’s feud is nothing new. The Florida man complained about the Democratic stronghold embracing “woke ideology” during a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, in early March.
Newsom returned the jab while visiting the New College of Florida Sarasota campus a week later.
“Fifty years of progress,” Newsom said. “Fifty years of voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, contraceptive rights, all of them are threats, state after state, led by your state and governor with a passion to demonize others.”
See the full interview below. Newsom’s comments on gun violence start at 18 minutes.