Authorized Door Opened By Texas Abortion Regulation Will Be Used To Ban Assault Weapons – CBS San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF / AP) – Foiled by a federal court backlash, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered staff to use Texas’s successful legal arguments in the Supreme Court to defend its ban on abortion to draft law that it would prohibit possession of assault weapons in California.

In a statement released Saturday night, Newsom expressed outrage over the Supreme Court’s decision on the Texas case.

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“I am outraged by yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling allowing the ban on most abortion services in Texas to be upheld, and I broadly support Texas’s plan to amend its Roe v. Basic Protection Act. Isolate Wade, ”he said. “But if states can now protect their laws from scrutiny by federal courts that liken assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people’s lives while Texas has used them to put women at risk. “

“I have directed my associates to work with the Legislature and Attorney General on a bill that will create a right of action that allows individuals to seek injunctive relief and legal damages of at least $ 10,000 per violation, plus costs and attorney’s fees assert anyone. ”Who manufactures, distributes or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts thereof in the US state of California. If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, that’s exactly what we should be doing. “

California has banned the manufacture and sale of many assault weapons for decades. A federal judge lifted the ban in June, ruling it unconstitutional and drew the wrath of the state’s democratic leaders by comparing the popular AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife as “good for home and combat”.

The state ban remained in place while the verdict is being appealed.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Texas passed law earlier this year banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which usually occurs about six weeks after pregnancy. Texas law allows private individuals to enforce the ban and gives them the power to sue abortion clinics and anyone else who “helps and assists” with the process.

On Friday, the US Supreme Court allowed Texas law to remain in effect while abortion clinics block it.

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The Texas Abortion Act litigation has centered on its unusual structure and whether it inappropriately limits the ability to challenge the law in court. Texan lawmakers left responsibility for enforcing the law to private individuals, not state officials.

The case raised a complex set of questions about who, if any, can sue in federal court, the typical avenue for contesting abortion restrictions.

Newsom’s gun proposal would have to pass California lawmakers before it could become law. The legislature is currently not in session and is due to meet again in January. It usually takes around eight months for new bills to pass through lawmakers, unless there are special circumstances.

Senator Brian Dahle, a Republican from Bieber, would oppose the plan but predicted it could likely pass California’s Democrat-dominated legislature. He said the proposal was most likely a stunt for Newsom to attract its progressive electorate ahead of a possible future presidential run.

“The right to bear arms is different from the right to have an abortion. The right to abortion is not a constitutional change. So I think he’s far from the base, ”said Dahle. “I think he’s just using it as an opportunity to be in the stands.”

But Newsom’s Saturday night statement is a fulfilled prophecy for some gun rights groups who had predicted that progressive states would try to use Texas’ abortion law to restrict access to guns. Because of this, the Firearms Policy Coalition, a nonprofit group that campaigns for gun rights, has filed a lawsuit against Texas law in the US Supreme Court.

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“If Texas is successful in its move here, New York, California, New Jersey and others will not be far behind making equally aggressive moves to not only deter but to freeze the right to keep and carry weapons,” Lawyer Erik Jaffe wrote on behalf of the Arms Policy Coalition.