The state of California is generally held to be the most gun-controlled state in the nation. It seems like there hasn’t been a gun control law that the state hasn’t fully embraced.

While Bruen focused on laws in New York, California had a similar measure on the books, one struck down by the Supreme Court.

Like New York, California also wanted to pass a new carry law–one that looks suspiciously like New York’s rushed attempt.

However, they hit some roadblocks.

A proposal to strengthen California’s concealed-carry law in response to a Supreme Court decision expanding rights to carry firearms in public failed in the Assembly on Tuesday despite backing from Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders.

But the bill isn’t dead yet.

In what’s called reconsideration, lawmakers may vote on the bill again Wednesday, the final day of the legislative session and the last chance for state lawmakers to act on legislation and send it to the governor.

Newsom worked with state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) and state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta for months this year on Senate Bill 918, a contingency plan to keep in place a robust concealed-carry law in California after the Supreme Court in June determined that certain restrictions violated the 2nd Amendment.

Portantino added an urgency clause to the bill, meaning it needed a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of the Legislature. The Assembly fell two votes shy of that threshold with a 52-19 vote. Several moderate Democrats either abstained from or voted against the measure.

“I am disappointed but optimistic that we will get the votes for SB 918. This is too important an issue for California to sit on the sidelines. We need to act now to keep our communities safe,” Portantino said in a statement after the vote.

The measure would require anyone seeking to get a permit to provide three character witnesses, perform an in-person interview, have their social media posts “reviewed,” and presumably provide their first-born child.

OK, I may have made that last one up.

Maybe.

Regardless, though, the big story is the lack of support for this one. See, the bill was constructed in such a way that lawmakers were convinced it would pass the required threshold. Only, it didn’t.

But the other side of the story is that more than enough voted for it in general. If officials hadn’t been greedy and try to make this a rush job, they had more than enough votes to pass it. That’s obvious for anyone to see, and there’s no doubt Gov. Gavin Newsom would sign the law.

Yet California’s legislators felt like they had to push this through in such a way that it would go into effect as quickly as possible because, if they didn’t, people might actually be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

In California.

We can’t have that, now can we? Next thing you know, people might actually be able to resist the lawlessness gripping so many of the major cities in that state and people would find out that gun rights are actually good for public safety.

That’s something else we can’t have, apparently.

It’s interesting that the support isn’t quite there. That’s actually surprising. However, it’s important for all of us (read: Me) to remember that it will become law. The only variable is how soon it’s passed and how quickly it’ll go into effect.

California wouldn’t have it any other way.