California Now Allows Private Residents to Sue Gunmakers

California’s SB 1327 went into effect Jan. 1, 2023, allowing private residents of the state to sue gunmakers who violate the state’s “assault weapons” ban. State or ban on selling guns to anyone under 21.

the Los Angeles Times reported that supporters of the new law see the prosecution option as a way to “enlist an army of rank-and-file agents” to protect the “assault weapons” ban and minimum age requirement by the state.

SB 1327 was passed in response to Texas’ heartbeat law, which allows abortionists to be prosecuted for terminating a pregnancy beyond six weeks gestation.

The law contains a fee transfer element that U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez blocked on Dec. 20, 2022.

The fee transfer component was designed to deter California gun control lawsuits.

Benitez wrote:

The provisions of § 1021.11(a) would expose the attorney to the risk of joint and several liability for government fees. And unlike typical pass-through provisions, the risk would extend for three years after the conclusion of the original litigation appellate review, rather than being part of the judgment in the original litigation. California’s § 1021.11 system of litigation rewards and penalties is completely contrary to what was intended by Congress, as expressed in § 1988.

Benitez concluded: “Defendant Attorney General Rob Bonta and Intervenor-Defendant Governor Gavin Newsom, and their officers, agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and persons in active concert or participation with them, and those who become aware of this injunctive order or knowledge of the existence of this injunctive order, are prohibited from implementing or enforcing California Code of Civil Procedure § 1021.11, as enacted by SB 1327.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and author/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused onn all Second Amendment stuff, also for Breitbart News. He is a political analyst for Armed American Radio and an ambassador for Turning Point USA. AWR Hawkins holds a doctorate in military history, with a focus on the Vietnam War (Brownwater Navy), the United States Navy since its inception, the Civil War, and early modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Contact him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.