Judge to halt provision making California gun suits costlier

By JULIE WATSON
Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge says he will block part of a new California law that critics say was designed to make it nearly impossible to challenge the state’s gun laws in court. U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez on Friday said one part of the law was unconstitutional because it would force people who challenge any of California’s gun laws to pay the government’s legal fees if they lose. Benitez said this would have a chilling effect on the public’s right to challenge the government in court. The law is modeled after a Texas measure that passed in 2021 and was designed to ban most abortions in that state.