New York State Attorney General Letitia James says she plans to follow California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lead and is looking into creating a law that empowers private citizens to enforce an assault weapons ban.
James made her remarks Tuesday on ABC’s “The View.” It came on the ninth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn. that killed 20 children and six adult staff members.
Last week, James dropped out of next year’s governor’s race and announced that she’llseek re-election to the attorney general’s post to “finish the job.”
Since then, James has announced that she is seeking a deposition from Donald Trump in early January as part of a civil fraud investigation into the Trump Organization. The investigation is looking at whether Trump’s company committed financial fraud in the valuations of properties to different entities, including banks and tax collection agencies.
James has also been involved in an ongoing effort to dissolve the National Rifle Association over allegations of fraud and self-dealing by its Executive Director Wayne LaPierre and other executives. officials. There was a court hearing on the case last Friday.
On “The View,” James was asked if she was interested in pursuing a similar legal strategy to what Newsom is planning in California — an assault weapons ban that would allow private citizens to sue assault weapon and ghost gun providers.
James replied that she was interested in following Newsom’s example.
“When I heard about that, I said to my team, ‘We need to follow his lead,'” James said. “And the reason why is because gun manufacturers and gun distributors in this country are immunized. No liability whatsoever. They’re the only industry that is protected in this country.”
She added: “Given the carnage, and the fact that this is the ninth anniversary of [the] Sandy Hook [shooting], I am sick and tired of prayers and individuals whose hearts go out to all of those who have lost lives. We can do something about it. And what we need to do is hold these manufacturers and these gun distributors liable.”
On Saturday, Newsom directed his staff to work with the state Legislature and the state’s attorney general to pass a law that would let private citizens sue to enforce California's ban on assault weapons. Newsom said people who sue could win up to $10,000 per violation plus attorneys fees against "anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon" in California.
He modeled the bill after the Texas law that outlaws most abortions after about six weeks into a pregnancy. It allows private citizens to enforce the ban by suing abortion clinics and anyone who “aids and abets” a woman with the procedure.
Newsom was incensed because a day earlier the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed the controversial Texas law to remain in effect but gave abortion providers a narrow window to sue to block it.
California has banned the manufacture and sale of assault-style weapons for several decades. But In June, a federal judge ruled the ban was unconstitutional. He compared the AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife as “good for both home and battle.” The assault weapons ban remains in effect while the judge’s ruling is being appealed.
"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," Newsom said in a statement on Saturday.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a blistering dissent to the Supreme Court’s decision to let the Texas law remain in effect predicted that it would encourage other states to follow Texas’ model, which she called a “model for nullifying federal rights.”
She added: The Court thus betrays not only the citizens of Texas, but also our constitutional system of government.”