Last summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom made a spectacular announcement on national television morning show.

As millions of Americans tuned in over breakfast and coffee, California’s Democratic governor said he was fed up with Congress’ inability to pass gun safety laws and was taking matters into his own hands. and called for a new constitutional amendment to restrict firearms.

The proposal was more of an attention-seeking adventure than a plan with any reasonable chance of success. The last and only time the states met in a constitutional convention was in 1787, when George Washington had not yet been elected the first president.

Still, California Democrats overwhelmingly Approved Newsom’s proposaland formally called for a constitutional convention that would ban the sale of assault weapons, require universal background checks for gun purchases, and raise the minimum age for purchasing firearms from 18 to 21.

However, a few Democratic lawmakers disagreed with the plan. San Francisco’s progressive senators were the most vocal critics, arguing that a constitutional convention could end up empowering conservative policies. And now, with the country in flux and a former president known for defying the laws of political gravity and shattering long-held norms about to take office again, Newsom’s flashy maneuvers can be blunted. It has begun a new effort to cancel California’s amendment request. Constitution.

Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).

Republicans will control the White House and both houses of Congress in January. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is likely to remain in place for years to come.

For Weiner and some other Democrats, the once-unlikely prospect of another constitutional convention suddenly looks a little more believable under President Trump’s second term. .

Reconvening the Constitutional Convention would require approval from 34 of the 50 states. But in many places, like California, there are already concerns. Opinions differ on the number of states that have already called for a constitutional convention; at least one aggregate More than 34 counts required.

Wiener’s proposal is First reported by the New York Timesall applications to the Constitutional Convention ever filed by Congress are annulled and superseded.

Mr. Weiner, like Mr. Newsom, is an ambitious and media-savvy politician. A frequent guest on Fox News’ Top Noir, he regularly pushes bills that make headlines and push the Democratic Party to the left. Mr. Weiner has made no secret of his desire for a seat in Congress, particularly the seat long held by Democratic power broker and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi whenever she retired.

Weiner is not the only Democratic politician concerned about that possibility. A conservative-led constitutional convention is just around the corner.. Several other states, including New Jersey and Illinois, have similarly canceled their constitutional conventions in recent years.

“I think this is a more real danger than many people realize. There has been a long-standing movement by non-conservatives to create a constitutional convention. It’s closer to the power of Washington, D.C., than ever before,” said Jonathan Mehta-Stein, executive director of California Common Cause, a nonpartisan democracy advocacy group.

Mehta Stein called the possibility of such a treaty “a Pandora’s box for our constitution,” creating “an opportunity for forces unknown to us to overhaul our democratic institutions and fundamental human rights.” He said it was possible.

The governor’s office said the governor’s position regarding support for the new constitutional amendment has not changed and declined to comment further.

Wiener’s decision to bring forward the resolution is a bit harsh for the governor, who has vetoed some of Wiener’s highest-profile bills, including regulatory bills. artificial intelligence Another is the decriminalization of psychedelic mushrooms.

Mr. Newsom could try to solidify Mr. Weiner’s commitment to a silent death by asking lawmakers to bury him without a vote. Representatives for Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) and House Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) both declined to say whether Democratic legislative leaders support Wiener’s resolution. avoided.

Republican leaders have also been slow to take a firm stance, but Mr. Wiener may end up supporting them. Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones (R-Santee) said he is reviewing Wiener’s resolution and evaluating the benefits and potential impact of a constitutional convention. Like Weiner, Jones and Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) voted against Newsom’s proposal last year.

“This plan was nothing more than a publicity stunt from the beginning,” said Gallagher, who leans toward supporting Wiener’s repeal efforts. “If repealing this bill forces Newsom to focus on California’s problems instead of garnering national attention, that seems like a good thing.”

The upcoming fight could also be a boon for Wiener, further boosting his public profile ahead of a potential congressional campaign. But it will also test the governor’s political strength, especially if he chooses to campaign behind the scenes against the proposal.

Part of the question is how a constitutional convention would actually play out on the ground, and whether it could be held around a specific topic, such as gun safety, as Newsom has argued. That’s a problem.

Instructions on how to proceed after each state convenes a constitutional convention are as follows: Article 5 The constitution is a 143-word text and contains virtually no specific logistics instructions.

Mr. Newsom’s office contends that his original resolution included a provision that would invalidate the constitutional convention if it convened for anything other than gun control.

But legal experts reject the idea that a constitutional convention could be convened around a single topic.

“The problem is that a constitutional convention based on Article V has never been held,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a leading constitutional law scholar. , no one knows if it will be possible to limit it to one theme.” “People said you could do it, people said you couldn’t do it. The only honest answer anyone can give you is because it’s never happened. There’s no way to know.”

Chemerinsky said Newsom’s call for a constitutional convention on gun safety is misguided, and agreed with Weiner that it’s plausible that a constitutional convention would actually take place. He said he thought so.

“There is certainly a risk that this could be a very ideologically driven group of people proposing very extreme changes to the constitution,” Chemerinsky said.