After the horrific mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, the California Senate passed a measure based off of Texas’ pro-life law regarding guns in the Golden State.
The bill, known as SB 1327, passed the Senate in a 24-10 vote on Tuesday, as did two other gun bills. They now head to the Assembly.
SB 1327 allows for private citizens to sue those who make or sell specific illegal weapons, including ones that are not traceable, specific gun parts, and defined assault weapons.
The bill is modeled after a Texas pro-life law that bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which is typically around six weeks of pregnancy. The Texas law allows for the private enforcement by citizens through lawsuits.
In the same way, SB 1327 notes, “[a]ny person, other than an officer or employee of a state or local governmental entity in this state, may bring a civil action against any person” who knowingly breaks the law, “engages in conduct that aids or abets” a violation of the law, or “[k]nowingly commits an act with the intent to engage in the conduct described…”
Last year, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom alluded to his desire to get such legislation passed.
Newsom released a statement about his “outrage” over the Supreme Court’s decision to permit a ban on most abortion services in the state of Texas, as The Daily Wire reported at the time.
“I am outraged by yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texas’s ban on most abortion services to remain in place, and largely endorsing Texas’s scheme to insulate its law from the fundamental protections of Roe v. Wade,” Newsom said in a statement.
“But 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,” he added.
On Tuesday, an 18-year-old man carried out a mass shooting inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing at least 19 students and 2 adults.
After the tragedy, Newsom went after Republicans, re-tweeting a post from the National Rifle Association promoting President Donald Trump’s upcoming speech. The governor wrote, “Meanwhile…” on his re-tweet.
Meanwhile… https://t.co/vaqLFHzk0q
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 24, 2022
He also specifically mentioned the Republican Party in a tweet, writing, “14 children and a teacher dead. Another shooting. And the GOP won’t do a damn thing about it…”
14 children and a teacher dead.
Another shooting. And the GOP won’t do a damn thing about it.
Who the hell are we if we cannot keep our kids safe.
This is preventable. Our inaction is a choice.
We need nationwide, comprehensive, commonsense gun safety NOW.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 24, 2022
He later tweeted, “Commonsense gun safety laws work. In CA, we have cut our gun death rate in half since the 1980’s. We won’t solve this overnight — but let’s stop pretending that these mass shootings are an inevitable horror we have to experience on a regular basis.”
Commonsense gun safety laws work.
In CA, we have cut our gun death rate in half since the 1980’s.
We won’t solve this overnight — but let’s stop pretending that these mass shootings are an inevitable horror we have to experience on a regular basis.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 24, 2022
On Wednesday, Newsom held a press conference with other legislators announcing “efforts to expedite legislation to protect communities from gun violence.”