SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. 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 Second Amendment groups and firearm owners.
Newsom started a game of legal chess in December when he called for gun control legislation in California modeled after a Texas law that authorizes private citizens to sue anyone who aids and abets in an abortion, which the high court declined to block.
Democratic state Sen. Bob Hertzberg of Van Nuys and a coalition of Democratic lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 1327 in response to Newsom’s request as a way to test the Supreme Court’s legal logic, while setting up a political rivalry with states that have used a conservative majority of justices to expand gun ownership and curb abortion rights.
