Newsom signs gun law modeled after Texas abortion ban, setting up Supreme Court fight
LA TimesThe California governor signed a gun control bill Friday that mimics Texas’ abortion ban. Gavin Newsom signed a controversial gun control bill modeled after Texas’ vigilante abortion law on Friday, teeing up a legal battle with a U.S. Supreme Court friendly to 2nd Amendment groups and firearm owners. Earlier this month, Newsom ran another campaign ad in Florida, which claimed that freedom is “under attack” in the Sunshine State and urged residents to “join us in California.” Abbott Press Secretary Renae Eze said Newsom should instead “focus on all the jobs and businesses that are leaving California and coming to Texas.” The new gun law, set to go into effect in January, will allow private people to sue anyone who imports, distributes, manufactures or sells illegal firearms in California, such as assault weapons,.50 BMG rifles and so-called ghost guns. “All of our attorneys are in the process of evaluating what we are going to do on this thing.” When the Supreme Court upheld the Texas law, some 2nd Amendment advocates voiced fears it could be used against them by gun control advocates, with Erik Jaffe, a lawyer for the Firearms Policy Coalition, calling the decision a vehicle for “deterring the exercise of any and all rights.” But other legal experts question whether California’s strategy to mimic the Texas abortion ban will render the same outcome if it is brought before the Supreme Court’s conservative majority. “One big difference between this law and Texas’ is the likely opinion of the Supreme Court,” said Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor with expertise in 2nd Amendment issues.