California legislators are coming out with a bill allowing lawsuits against gun manufacturers, in a partial step toward Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declared intent to pass legislation echoing the Texas abortion bounty hunter law that the Supreme Court has allowed to go into effect.
The Texas law dodges review by the courts by putting enforcement entirely in the hands of private citizens. The planned California bill more closely echoes a New York law, passed in 2021 and currently facing gun industry lawsuits, which allows “for a lawsuit to be brought in cases where reasonable controls and procedures are not in place, ensuring that responsible manufacturers and dealers will not be held accountable for the actions of criminal actors,” according to state senator’s release on the passage of that law.
The forthcoming California legislation—which is still being drafted and revised—currently specifies that “A gun industry member shall have created or maintained a public nuisance, as defined in Section 3480, if their failure to follow federal, state, or local law caused injury or death or if the gun industry member engaged in unfair business practices.” That would open the manufacturers up to lawsuits.
Federal law shields gun manufacturers from liability, but states could potentially hold them liable for violations of state laws.
“We must make our communities safer. Almost every industry in the United States can be held liable for what their products do, but the gun industry is not held to the same standard. Financial repercussions may finally push them to be more responsible by improving their practices and adhering to California’s strict gun laws,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting, one of the bill’s sponsors, in a statement.
“So long as the United States Supreme Court has set a precedent which allows private citizens to sue to stop abortions in Texas, California will use that same ability to save lives,” a spokesperson for Newsom said in a statement Tuesday.
The Supreme Court may have allowed the Texas law to go into effect, but its right-wing justices would absolutely not consider themselves bound by their arguments in support of the Texas law if they were considering a gun law passed by Democrats. They would strike that down posthaste because they do not care about consistency or anything except pushing their right-wing views into law. Still, it’s a good idea to challenge them to do it publicly in front of the world, to make them show themselves fully for who they are.
The Texas law dodges review by the courts by putting enforcement entirely in the hands of private citizens. The planned California bill more closely echoes a New York law, passed in 2021 and currently facing gun industry lawsuits, which allows “for a lawsuit to be brought in cases where reasonable controls and procedures are not in place, ensuring that responsible manufacturers and dealers will not be held accountable for the actions of criminal actors,” according to state senator’s release on the passage of that law.
The forthcoming California legislation—which is still being drafted and revised—currently specifies that “A gun industry member shall have created or maintained a public nuisance, as defined in Section 3480, if their failure to follow federal, state, or local law caused injury or death or if the gun industry member engaged in unfair business practices.” That would open the manufacturers up to lawsuits.
Federal law shields gun manufacturers from liability, but states could potentially hold them liable for violations of state laws.
“We must make our communities safer. Almost every industry in the United States can be held liable for what their products do, but the gun industry is not held to the same standard. Financial repercussions may finally push them to be more responsible by improving their practices and adhering to California’s strict gun laws,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting, one of the bill’s sponsors, in a statement.
“So long as the United States Supreme Court has set a precedent which allows private citizens to sue to stop abortions in Texas, California will use that same ability to save lives,” a spokesperson for Newsom said in a statement Tuesday.
The Supreme Court may have allowed the Texas law to go into effect, but its right-wing justices would absolutely not consider themselves bound by their arguments in support of the Texas law if they were considering a gun law passed by Democrats. They would strike that down posthaste because they do not care about consistency or anything except pushing their right-wing views into law. Still, it’s a good idea to challenge them to do it publicly in front of the world, to make them show themselves fully for who they are.