California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced a novel proposal for to combat gun violence: a brand new amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The amendment would raise the age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21, create a waiting period around gun purchases, mandate universal background checks for firearm purchases and bar civilians from purchasing certain military-style weapons. 

In a statement, Newsom's office says the proposed amendment would the 2nd Amendment unchanged, protecting what it called "America’s gun-owning tradition," while implementing "common sense constitutional protections and gun safety measures" with widespread bipartisan support.

A recent poll from Fox News showed that a vast majority of Americans back many of these proposals, including the increased purchase age (81%), universal background checks (87%), and implementing a 30-day waiting period for firearm purchases (77%).

“Our ability to make a more perfect union is literally written into the Constitution,” said Newsom in a statement. “Today, I’m proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to do just that. The 28th Amendment will enshrine in the Constitution common sense gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support – while leaving the 2nd Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition.”

Newsom’s amendment would also “affirm Congress, states, and local governments can enact additional common-sense gun safety regulations that save lives.”

The news was first shared by Newsom in an interview with NBC News. The amendment comes comes as the country marks Gun Violence Prevention Month.

Newsom’s proposal faces an uphill battle; to add an amendment to the Constitution, it must be passed by a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, or two-thirds of the state legislatures can ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments.

Even if Newsom’s proposal gets that far, the amendment then must be ratified by three-quarters of the states.

It’s a very difficult process to get an amendment added to the Constitution. A proposed 28th Amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment, was introduced in Congress for the first time in 1923, but did not pass Congress with two-thirds approval until March 1972. It was never added to the Constitution because Virginia, which became the 38th state to ratify the amendment in 2020, missed the ratification deadline set by Congress by over 40 years.

Spectrum News has reached out to the White House for comment on Newsom's proposal.