On Monday, Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-Carson) said he would be introducing a bill to kick off 2022 to get rid of ghost guns and assault weapons in California for good.
Gipson said he was answering Governor Gavin Newsom’s call to introduce legislation as Assembly Democratic Caucus chair and as stepping to the plate.
“Like our honorable Governor Gavin Newsom already states, If Texas can ban abortion and endanger lives, California can ban deadly weapons of war and save lives.”
He continued.
“As many may recall, I worked with former Attorney General Xaiver Becerra’s office and championed landmark legislation in this space, AB 879, which I thank the governor for signing into law in 2019. AB 879 requires a state background check for purchases of unfinished firearm frames and receivers, and that all purchases take place through a licensed gun dealer.
I am committed to now working with current Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office and alongside the Governors staff, to craft and move legislation that they both support, that would let private citizens sue entities that put these deadly weapons on our streets. Those who violate this will face legal ramifications that include damages or more.”
Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court Decision allowing Texas’s ban on most abortion services to remain in place:
“I am outraged by yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texas’s ban on most abortion services to remain in place, and largely endorsing Texas’s scheme to insulate its law from the fundamental protections of Roe v. Wade. 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.
I have directed my staff to work with the Legislature and the Attorney General on a bill that would create a right of action allowing private citizens to seek injunctive relief, and statutory damages of at least $10,000 per violation plus costs and attorney’s fees, against anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts in the State of California. 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.”
