States weigh Texas-style enforcement for guns, schools after Supreme Court abortion ruling

WASHINGTON – A Texas law that relies on private citizens to enforce a ban on most abortions inspired copycat proposals as state lawmakers use similar enforcement methods to affect gun ownership, education and transgender rights.

In Florida and Missouri, for example, lawmakers are considering bills that would permit residents to sue schools for teaching about institutional racism. California and Illinois are weighing legislation that could make it easier to sue gun manufacturers.

Last month, the Supreme Court let stand a Texas law that permits civil lawsuits against doctors, nurses and anyone who helps a person obtain an abortion after cardiac activity is detected in an embryo – usually at around six weeks of pregnancy. The law provides damages starting at $10,000, an award that critics said amounts to a bounty.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide