California punched back Friday against two recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions as Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will sign a controversial, first-in-the-nation gun law patterned after a Texas anti-abortion law.
His action, part of an event scheduled for 11 a.m. in Santa Monica, comes one month after conservative justices overturned women’s constitutional right to abortions and undermined gun laws in states including California.
Newsom stitched the two hot-button topics together in approving a law allowing people to sue anyone who distributes illegal assault weapons, parts that can be used to build weapons, guns without serial numbers, or .50 caliber rifles. They would be awarded at least $10,000 in civil damages for each weapon, plus attorneys fees.