Not to be outdone in absurd exaggeration, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed in a tweet on Tuesday, “It’s easier to get a gun than a Happy Meal in California.” Apparently, Newsom was out to one-up President Barack Obama, who lectured after the ambush assassination of Dallas police that “It’s easier for a teenager to buy a Glock than get his hands on a computer or even a book.”
Of course, the only way Newsom’s claim could be true is if minors were barred from buying Happy Meals, if buying them required a mandatory background check and 10-day waiting period, and if Happy Meals were required to be stored under lock and key, and illegal to sell at all unless they met California-specific requirements.
For decades, California has had the strictest anti-gun laws in the nation, yet its gun-related murder rate is still 25 percent higher than the national average. Newsom’s hogwash hyperbole can’t hide that.