Governor Newsom To Use Supreme Court Decision As Means To Go After Gun Makers
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - In response to Friday's Supreme Court decision that upheld the state of Texas's ban on most abortion services, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement on his plan of action moving forward.
His statement, released on the official Twitter account of the California Governor, read as such:
"I am outraged by yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texas' 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. 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.
"I have directed my staff to work with the Legislature and the Attorney General on a bill that would create a right of action allowing private citizens to seek injunctive relief, and statutory damages of at least $10,000 per violation plus costs and attorney's fees, against anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts in the State of California. If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, we should do just that."
The new law, which has yet to be introduced, is said to be based on the same Texas law called into question in the Supreme Court case, which permits citizens to sue anyone, including doctors, who may help a woman get an abortion after six weeks - something that is illegal in Texas.
In this case, the law would allow citizens to sue anyone that makes or distributes ghost guns and/or assault rifles. Los Angeles County issued a ban on all ghost guns, including kits and parts of ghost guns, in November.
On Wednesday, prior to the Supreme Court decision, Newsom offered sanctuary to anyone seeking reproductive care ahead of not just the decision in regards to Texas - but to the entire United States - as more than half of the states are set to ban abortion next year.
This isn't the first time that Newsom has offered sanctuary to out-0f-staters, in 2019 he also offered sanctuary to all who need it in his inauguration speech.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
