Newsom to use Texas abortion law tactics to go after assault rifle, ghost gun makers

In a new approach to gun control inspired by Texas’s controversial approach to banning most abortions, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday announced that his administration will work to make it easier for private citizens to sue people who sell assault rifles and parts for untraceable ghost guns.

State officials will aim to craft a measure  that would allow residents to seek damages of at least $10,000, plus legal fees, against anyone who manufactures, distributes or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit in California.

“If states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives,” Newsom said in a press release late Saturday, “then California will use that authority to protect people’s lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm’s way.”

In seizing on Texas’s successful approach to severely limiting abortion access, Newsom’s plan is likely to attract a version of the controversy that embroiled lawmakers there after they approved a bill banning abortion after a heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks into a pregnancy. The new law, which is already spurring droves of women to seek abortion access out of state, is unique because it relies on enabling private citizens to sue abortion providers for the same amount Newsom is proposing in his new gun measure.