Determined to regulate access to firearms, California on Friday passed a law allowing citizens to individually sue anyone who manufactures or sells assault rifles in its territory, inspired by a highly controversial device to deter women from having abortions. in Texas.
Last year, long before the United States Supreme Court struck down women’s constitutional right to voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion), highly conservative Texas had decided to entrust citizens with the right to bring civil lawsuits against all women. organizations and individuals that help women have abortions.
Texas law states that they receive at least $10,000 in “compensation” in the event of a conviction in court.
$10,000 up for grabs
The elected representatives of California, a state with a large Democratic majority, fiercely attached to the right to abortion and in favor of a strict regulation of firearms, have decided to use the same legal arsenal to enforce their laws in this area, if they consider it necessary. threatened.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Friday, similar to the Texas abortion law, that allows citizens to prosecute anyone who manufactures, sells or transports prohibited firearms (assault rifles, so-called firearms). of “ghosts” kit, etc.), again with a $10,000 award on the line.
“We are inspired by Texas. Frankly, if Texas can use the right of citizens to sue to attack women, then we can use that right to make California safer,” he told a news conference. California Senator Anthony Portantino, co-author of this law
“The Supreme Court has opened the door”
However, the law, which takes effect on January 1, 2023, will undoubtedly be challenged in court and subject to numerous appeals by conservative organizations and the gun lobby.
But “the Supreme Court opened the door. The Supreme Court said that was fine. It was a terrible decision, but these are the rules that it established,” criticized Governor Newsom.
The highest US court, whose majority of justices appointed for life are conservatives, had refused to invalidate Texas provisions restricting the right to abortion.
24,000 deaths by firearm since the beginning of the year
Last month, the Supreme Court also upheld the right of Americans to be armed in public, overturning restrictions on carrying weapons in a New York State law. Gavin Newsom had described this decision as “shameful” and “dangerous”.
Nearly 400 million guns were in circulation among the US civilian population in 2017, or 120 guns per 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey project.
Gun violence has claimed more than 24,000 lives, including 13,000 suicides, since the beginning of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archives website.
Source: BFM TV
