The California legislature passed a bill that would allow private citizens to sue anyone connected to the manufacture, sale or transfer of any illegal gun–mimicking a similar bill from Texas that rewards people who sought an abortion it deemed illegal after passing a draconian anti-choice measure, the Associated Press reports.
The bill will be returned to the state senate, where an earlier version of the bill passed in May, so the new bill can be voted on before being sent to the desk of Democratic President Gavin Newsom for his signature.
“This puts power back in the people’s hands,” said Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting. “This creates a private right of action that allows almost anyone to bring a lawsuit against those who manufacture, distribute, transport, import or sell illegal assault weapons, rifles, ghost guns or ghost gun kits.”
The bill mimics and challenges its Texas counterpart, which allows for any private individual sue for civil damages anyone who assists a woman getting an abortion after six weeks of gestation. This could include someone who transported the woman to a doctor’s office, as well as the doctor, the nurse and an insurance company. Plus, the bill does not limit the number of people who could sue those individuals. The people who file the lawsuits are also shielded from any countersuits by the law.
California’s bill addresses an actual crime: the illegal manufacture, sale or transfer of illegal guns or the illegal possession of firearms. The California law allows not just a lawsuit for each individual involved; individuals can get at least $10,000 per gun.