New CA Gun Law Signed By Newsom: What To Know [SURVEY]

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new legislation Tuesday that will allow Californians to sue companies in the gun industry after reports of gun violence.

The bill, AB 1694, could make it more difficult for manufacturers to sell assault weapons in the state. The legislation borrows tactics from a controversial approach to outlawing most abortions in Texas, in which residents are allowed to sue abortion clinics to stop procedures.

"Our kids, families and communities deserve streets free of gun violence and gun makers must be held accountable for their role in this crisis. Nearly every industry is held liable when people are hurt or killed by their products – guns should be no different," Newsom wrote in a statement.

Starting July 2023, the bill will allow state residents, the attorney general and local governments to sue industry companies in civil court. The bill is primarily meant for those harmed by shootings.

Authored by Assemblymember Phill Ting (D-San Francisco), the bill also requires companies to enforce "reasonable" efforts to make sure that their weapons are not being used illegally.

The bill says the industry must "take reasonable precautions to ensure that the member does not sell, distribute, or provide a firearm-related product, as defined, to a downstream distributor or retailer of firearm-related products who fails to establish, implement, and enforce reasonable controls, and adhere to specified laws pertaining to unfair methods of competition, unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and false advertising."

Gun makers would also be restricted from manufacturing, marketing, importing, offering for wholesale sale or offering for retail sale a weapon that is "abnormally dangerous."

Gun manufacturers, for example, could be sued after someone is killed or injured after any incident that violates the state's assault weapons ban, California's law on background checks or requirements to sell safety devices on firearms.

“Gun violence is now the leading cause of death among kids and teens in the United States, surpassing car accidents. I see no better argument for stronger gun safety legislation," Ting said. "For far too long, the firearms industry has enjoyed federal immunity from civil lawsuits, providing them no incentive for them to follow our laws. Hitting their bottom line may finally compel them to step up to reduce gun violence by preventing illegal sales and theft."

The National Rifle Association decried the legislation and could challenge it in court.

“While it is clear that states have authority to regulate firearms, any robust regulation, such as this bill, will be susceptible to challenge,” according to an analysis prepared by legislative staff, KCRA reported. “Indeed, in one relevant example, a federal appeals court recently struck down California’s laws limiting sales of semiautomatic rifles to persons under 21 years of age.”

Previously, Newsom said he thought the Texas abortion law was wrong and lambasted the Supreme Court's decision last year to uphold it.

"But they opened up the door. They set the tone, tenor, the rules. And either we can be on the defense complaining about it or we can play by those rules. We are going to play by those rules," Newsom said then.

"We'll see how principled the U.S. Supreme Court is."

Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, previously told the Associated Press he believed the bill's true purpose is to ban guns altogether in California.

"There's no question that it would put some of the smaller mom-and-pop gun stores out of business if they were challenged in court. They don't have the resources to defend themselves, even if they are not guilty," he said. "This will have a huge chilling effect, and that's their intent."

Last year, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez overturned a decades-old law that banned the sale and manufacture of many assault-style guns. Benitez said the law was unconstitutional and compared the AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army Knife.

The ruling enraged Newsom and prompted him to strategize a new way to keep assault weapons out of the Golden State.

"We need to call this federal judge out. He will continue to do damage, mark my word," Newsom said, calling the judge a "stone-cold ideologue."

California law defines assault weapons as semiautomatic rifles or pistols that have a variety of functions. The bill would let people seek a court order to stop the spread of these weapons and recover a minimum of $10,000 in damages for each weapon, plus attorney's fees.