California routinely provokes rational individuals to scratch their head in bewilderment. The latest example is SB1327, a gun law modeled after a Texas abortion law. The Texas law allows citizens to sue those who are involved in performing abortions. The California law allows citizens to sue gun manufacturers, gun shops, and anyone who transports an assault weapon used in a crime. This is a not the way to legislate.
If a law is just and proper, then its continued enforcement should not be contingent on what happens in another state. Newsome and the California legislature are essentially proclaiming that SB1327 is not just and proper. They are implying that, so long as the Texas law is in force, then SB1327 is proper. The moment the Texas law is struck down is when SB1327 becomes improper.
Whether Texas (or any state) has a particular law on its books has no bearing on the legitimacy of a law in California. An unjust law in one state does not justify enacting an unjust law in another.
Prior to signing the bill, California Gov. Gavin Newsome took out full page ads in three Texas newspapers attacking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. In a statement to CNN, Newsome said,
If Texas can ban abortion and endanger lives, California can ban deadly weapons of war and save lives. If Governor Abbott truly wants to protect the right to life, I urge him to follow California’s lead.
If SB1327 truly will save lives by banning “deadly weapons of war,” then why would Newsome or the legislature even consider repealing it? Since SB 1327 will automatically be repealed when the Texas law is overturned, Newsome and the legislature are clearly engaging in political grandstanding.
Passing laws like SB1327 may be good politics in California. But it is not good legislation. Good legislation protects individual rights. Protecting individual rights—which is the only proper purpose of government—is not on Newsome’s agenda.
When political expediency replaces political principles, laws like SB1327 are the result. This is not the way to legislate.