Headline Roundup • December 12th, 2021
Gavin Newsom To Help Californians Sue Gunmakers In Response To Texas Abortion Law
Summary from the AllSides News Team
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Saturday that he is actively working on a bill that would empower private citizens to sue "anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts in the State of California" for at least $10,000.
Newsom said the proposed bill is a response to the Supreme Court's recent decision to allow Texas's abortion law to remain in effect. "If states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people's lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm's way," Newsom said in a statement Saturday evening. Texas's controversial Heartbeat Act (SB 8) bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected and allows individuals to sue anyone suspected of helping a woman get an abortion. Newsom's legislation is expected to face a series of legal challenges before reaching the Supreme Court.
The proposal was prominently covered by outlets across the spectrum, particularly those covering news on the West Coast. Right-rated outlets were more likely to highlight quotes from public figures that criticized "laws affecting the right to keep and bear arms" and doubted Newsom's ability to get his bill passed the Supreme Court. Some voices in left-rated outlets praised Newsom's "if you can’t beat them, join them mentality" and emphasized voices who criticized the Texas abortion ban.
Featured Coverage of this Story
(Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)
California governor Gavin Newsom (D.) is strategizing to use the enforcement mechanism of a recently enacted Texas abortion law, which the Supreme Court allowed to survive on Friday, to curb the sale and circulation of “assault weapons” in the state.
On Saturday, Newsom said in a press release that the governor’s office would work with the legislature and attorney general to create a bill that would empower private citizens to sue for at least $10,000 “anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts in the State of...
Photo: Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle
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...
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday he is working on a bill that would help private citizens sue manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of assault weapons or ghost gun kits.
Newsom said he was responding to a Supreme Court decision made Friday that allowed a controversial abortion law in Texas to stand. The law bans all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and invites ordinary citizens, rather than state officials, to enforce it by suing abortion providers or anyone who helps someone get an abortion.
The court's decision was technical, Insider's Oma Seddiq reported...
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