California Bill Would Allow Citizens to Enforce Weapons Ban

A California bill would allow private citizens to go after gun makers in the same way Texas allows them to target abortion providers.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday backed a new bill in the state Legislature that would let private citizens enforce the state’s assault weapons ban by filing civil lawsuits. It’s modeled after a Texas law that allows private citizens to sue abortion providers for performing abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Texas law to stay in effect pending a legal challenge.

The California bill would let people get up to $10,000 in damages for each offense.