Both a California gun law, allowing citizens to sue the makers of illegal guns, and a Texas anti-abortion law allowing individuals to sue providers may end in a United States Supreme Court showdown, Politico reported Monday.
According to the report, California Judge Roger Benitez struck down a state law allowing the victims of illegal gun violence to sue the manufacturers of the weapons, which could wind up in front of the country's highest court, taking a similar Texas abortion law with it.
California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation in July which lets victims of gun violence hold the gun makers civilly responsible for the damage the illegal weapons cause.
"To the victims of gun violence and their families: California stands with you. The gun industry can no longer hide from the devastating harm their products cause," Gov. Newsom said in a July 12 press release when he signed the law. "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."
The law, however, had an alternative purpose.
Newsom wanted to see it fail in court to push against the Texas law passed by a Republican controlled state Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that expands the "standing" of plaintiffs to include private citizens who can now sue abortion providers regardless of their personal stake in the act, the Texas Tribune reported in September 2021.
"It's wide open," David Coale, an appellate lawyer in Texas told the news outlet at the time. "That is a radical expansion of the concept of standing."
Newsom made his intention to see the Texas law challenged through his own gun law clear after the ruling Monday, Politico reported.
"I want to thank Judge Benitez. We have been saying all along that Texas' anti-abortion law is outrageous. Judge Benitez just confirmed it is also unconstitutional," Newsom said in a statement to Politico Monday. "The provision in California's law that he struck down is a replica of what Texas did, and his explanation of why this part of SB 1327 unfairly blocks access to the courts applies equally to Texas' SB 8."
In his previous comments last year, Newsom directly challenged the conservative majority high court to strike both laws down, or be labeled hypocrites.
"The question is whether they are complete and abject hypocrites and frauds if they reject our bill that's modeled after that abortion bill as it relates to private right of action to go after assault weapons," Politico reported Newsom saying last year.
According to the report, the plan is not without risk of backfiring as SCOTUS has already demonstrated a willingness to expand gun rights under the second amendment.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.