Texas and California

 

In recent months, California has taken the lead in yet another way: As conservative states move to enact far-right legislative agendas, politicians in California say they’re spearheading the resistance. State lawmakers have proposed measures that would make California a kind of legal sanctuary for women seeking abortions and parents with trans children. Gov. Gavin Newsom called for gun control legislation modeled on Texas’ abortion law, which would allow private individuals to sue makers of restricted firearms.

And as my colleague Shawn Hubler and I reported in this article about why red and blue states are shifting even further apart, Newsom has also become more vocal in his criticisms of the policies implemented by his conservative counterparts.

“We are not going to sit back and neutrally watch the progress of the 20th century get erased,” he told us.

Of course, for years, leaders of states like Texas and Florida have painted the Golden State as a dystopian hellscape in efforts to appeal to their Republican bases, and to lure businesses and residents.

NYTimes. 4/5/2022