California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday that he plans to use the Texas abortion ban as a model for a new gun control law.
His response comes after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas to keep the abortion law in place. Newsom believes the decision will allow the states to avoid federal courts while enacting laws.
The ban in Texas allows citizens to sue anyone who aids an abortion after a heartbeat is detected, which is around six weeks.
In a statement released Saturday, Newsom said “I am outraged by yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texas’s ban on most abortion services to remain in place”.
“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 stated.
Newsom said he has directed his staff to work with the legislature and the attorney general to create a bill involving gun control.
The bill would allow private citizens to sue manufacturers, distributers, and sellers of assault weapons or ghost gun kits.
“If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, we should do just that,” he concluded.
On Twitter, Newsom wrote “SCOTUS is letting private citizens in Texas sue to stop abortion?! If that’s the precedent then we’ll let Californians sue those who put ghost guns and assault weapons on our streets. If TX can ban abortion and endanger lives, CA can ban deadly weapons of war and save lives”.