California Gov. Gavin Newsom OKs New Bill Allowing Residents to Sue Gun Makers, Citing Texas Abortion Law As Its Blueprint

By Mary Webber Feb 20 2022, 23:10 PM EST

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has passed a new bill that will allow private citizens to file a lawsuit against gun makers, saying that the new policy was created with the Texas abortion law as its blueprint.

Newsom said in a news conference that they will use the same law to save lives and improve the health and safety of the people in the state of California if Texas can use the law to ban women's right to choose and put their health at risk, according to a Daily Mail report.

Newsom asserted that the Texas law was unethical and criticized the Supreme Court's decision to let it stay in effect.

However, the Democratic governor said it opened up the door, and either people can complain about it or play by those rules.

Newsom said that the state of California will be playing by those rules. He then added that they will have to see "how principled the U.S. Supreme Court is."

Democratic State Senator Bob Hertzberg, who penned the proposal, said that their message of the U.S. Supreme Court is what is good for the goose "is good for the gander."

The Firearms Policy Coalition vowed a legal battle should the California bill become a law. The gun advocacy group aimed to influence legislation and public opinion of gun rights.

California Bill Against Gun Makers

Hertzberg's office said that if a citizen wins a case against a manufacturer, they could receive up to $10,000 in damages for each weapon.

The California bill would allow citizens to file a lawsuit against companies that take .50 BMG rifles, ghost guns, or ghost gun kits and manufacture, import, transport, or distribute them in California, according to The Hill report.

California has imposed a decades-long ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons. However, a federal judge overturned that ban last year.

Meanwhile, California's new bill has not been filed yet in the state legislature, according to an Aljazeera report.

The Texas abortion law is unique in that it prohibits the government from enforcing the law while letting private citizens seek enforcement.

The Firearms Policy Coalition called Newsom's proposed restrictions a "modern-day Jim Crow" that is designed to suppress the exercise of human rights.

Ghost guns and ghost gun kits will not also be allowed under the new bill. These are guns bought online and assembled at home that do not have serial numbers, making them difficult to trace.

Lawsuit Against Gun Makers

Recently, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims' families reached a settlement worth $73 million against Remington Arms over how the company marketed the rifle used in the massacre in Newton, Connecticut on December 14, 2021.

It is the first time a U.S. gun maker has settled in a lawsuit related to a mass shooting, according to a Time report.

A 2005 federal law that largely protects firearm and ammunition manufacturers, as well as sellers, from liability when their products are used in crimes.

The gunmaker filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and in 2020, which was a time when its assets were auctioned and sold.

It was assumed that the bankruptcy recognition may have made Remington's representatives more "willing to come to the table in a way that other gun manufactures would not be," according to Timothy Lytton.

Lytton is a Georgia State University law professor.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Gov. Newsom backs California bill that allows citizens to enforce weapons ban - from ABC7