SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign 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 2nd 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.
State Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-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.
