Newsom wants to let private California citizens sue gun dealers, similar to Texas abortion ban

If the U.S. Supreme Court will allow private citizens in Texas to sue over abortion, it ought to allow private citizens in California to sue over gun violence, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

The governor on Friday backed a series of bills aimed at tightening gun control rules and closing ghost gun loopholes. Among them are two bills that would allow individuals to take action against the gun industry.

Newsom first brought up the idea in December after Texas lawmakers passed a bill allowing private citizens to sue people who get abortions or help others get abortions. After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Texas law, the California governor vowed to work with the Legislature on a bill that mimics the one in Texas, but works in the favor of gun violence victims.

“If Texas can use a law to ban a woman’s right to choose and to put her health at risk, we will use that same law to save lives and improve the health and safety of the people in the state of California,” Newsom said at a press conference in San Diego on Friday.

“There is no principled way the U.S. Supreme Court cannot uphold this California law. Full stop. It is quite literally modeled after the law they just upheld.”