Taking a Page From the Texas Abortion Ban, California's Governor Threatens To Attack Gun Rights With Private Lawsuits
It is not clear whether Newsom, a Democrat, is serious about pursuing legislation that would take a page from S.B. 8, the Texas abortion law, by authorizing private lawsuits against people who sell "assault weapons" or DIY gun kits. "I think he's just using it as an opportunity to grandstand," state Sen. Brian Dahle (R–Bieber) told Politico. Dahle "said the proposal was most likely a stunt for Newsom to win favor with his progressive base of voters ahead of a possible run for president." But even if Newsom's proposal does not bear legislative fruit, his impulse illustrates the threat posed by the S.B. 8 strategy of enlisting private bounty hunters to enforce a law that otherwise would be promptly blocked by federal courts.
"I am outraged by yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texas's ban on most abortion services to remain in place, and largely endorsing Texas's scheme to insulate its law from the fundamental protections of Roe v. Wade," Newsom said in a statement released on Saturday. "But if states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people's lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm's way."
That "Swiss Army knives" reference alludes to a June 2021 decision in which U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez concluded that California's "assault weapon" ban is unconstitutional. "Like the Swiss Army Knife," Benitez wrote in the opening line of his 94-page opinion, "the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment." His general point was that California had violated the Second Amendment by prohibiting firearms that are in common use for lawful purposes.
It is not clear whether Newsom, a Democrat, is serious about pursuing legislation that would take a page from S.B. 8, the Texas abortion law, by authorizing private lawsuits against people who sell "assault weapons" or DIY gun kits. "I think he's just using it as an opportunity to grandstand," state Sen. Brian Dahle (R–Bieber) told Politico. Dahle "said the proposal was most likely a stunt for Newsom to win favor with his progressive base of voters ahead of a possible run for president." But even if Newsom's proposal does not bear legislative fruit, his impulse illustrates the threat posed by the S.B. 8 strategy of enlisting private bounty hunters to enforce a law that otherwise would be promptly blocked by federal courts.
"I am outraged by yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texas's ban on most abortion services to remain in place, and largely endorsing Texas's scheme to insulate its law from the fundamental protections of Roe v. Wade," Newsom said in a statement released on Saturday. "But if states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people's lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm's way."
That "Swiss Army knives" reference alludes to a June 2021 decision in which U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez concluded that California's "assault weapon" ban is unconstitutional. "Like the Swiss Army Knife," Benitez wrote in the opening line of his 94-page opinion, "the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment." His general point was that California had violated the Second Amendment by prohibiting firearms that are in common use for lawful purposes.