Newsom signs gun control bill inspired by Texas abortion ban
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed Senate Bill 1327, a gun control law modeled on the Texas abortion ban known as SB 8, CNN reported. Both pieces of legislation rely on private citizens, not police, to enforce the law.
Specifically, SB 1327 empowers Californians to bring civil action — for a minimum of $10,000 per gun — against licensed dealers who sell firearms to people under 21. It also allows for lawsuits against anyone who manufactures, distributes, transports, or imports assault weapons or ghost guns in California.
Newsom's comments on the bill suggest that it's intended less as a serious piece of legislation than as an way of proving a point. "We believe this will be litigated in the Supreme Court and we believe the Supreme Court will be challenged. Because if there's any principle left whatsoever — and that's an open-ended question with this Supreme Court — there is no way they can deny us the right to move in this direction," Newsom said after signing the bill.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The California gun law contains a provision that would make it "inoperative upon invalidation" of the Texas abortion law.
The U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Supreme Court have both rejected challenges to SB 8, but the fall of Roe v. Wade (1973) may have rendered the point moot. Texas is now able to enforce its pre-Roe abortion law, which bans the procedure at all stages unless the life of the mother is at risk.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency – an ‘engrossing’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends All 126 images from the American photographer’s ‘influential’ photobook have come to the UK for the first time
-
American Psycho: a ‘hypnotic’ adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis classicThe Week Recommends Rupert Goold’s musical has ‘demonic razzle dazzle’ in spades
-
Political cartoons for February 6Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include Washington Post layoffs, no surprises, and more
-
Supreme Court upholds California gerrymanderSpeed Read The emergency docket order had no dissents from the court
-
‘Various international actors hope to influence the result for their own benefit’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Gavin Newsom and Dr. Oz feud over fraud allegationsIn the Spotlight Newsom called Oz’s behavior ‘baseless and racist’
-
Democrats win House race, flip Texas Senate seatSpeed Read Christian Menefee won the special election for an open House seat in the Houston area
-
‘Something close to a universal rallying cry’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
