California governor vetoes gun-control bills, approves lead bullet ban

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Declaring that California already has some of the nation’s toughest gun laws, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday vetoed bills that would have further limited gun ownership and the sale of semi-automatic rifles.

The Democratic governor, a gun owner who hunted in his younger days, said the proposals went too far and would have infringed on the rights of hunters and marksmen without making Californians safer.

Many of the bills had been introduced after last December’s shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, where 20 children and six adults were killed.

Among Brown’s vetoes was a proposal that had been a top target for defeat by the National Rifle Association. The measure would have banned the future manufacture, import and sale of semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines. It would also have required those who already own such guns to register them.

“The state of California already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, including bans on military-style assault rifles and high capacity ammunition magazines,” Brown wrote in his veto message.

The state also bans the open carrying of guns in urban areas, has a 10-day waiting period for purchasing firearms and requires buyers to undergo a background check.

The governor hewed to the political middle on some gun measures Friday. He approved a ban on hunting with lead bullets, a requirement that rifle owners undergo safety training and a prohibition on assault-weapon permits for businesses and gun clubs.

Guns must be locked up in homes where felons and the mentally ill live, and kits enabling ammunition magazines to hold more than 10 bullets will be outlawed under other bills the governor signed.

Democratic Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, who introduced the rifle bill, SB 374, said Brown’s veto was unfortunate.

“Since the horrendous mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, last December, more than 1,100 Californians have been killed by continuing gun violence,” he said. “We have missed the opportunity to curb that violence and save more lives.”

Democratic lawmakers have a supermajority they could use to override Brown’s vetoes. But that appears unlikely; Steinberg’s rifle bill passed his own house with a bare majority.

In addition to the Steinberg measure, Brown vetoed a proposed redefinition of prohibited assault rifles to include shotguns with a revolving cylinder.

The governor also rejected a plan to require gun owners to report to authorities within seven days of discovering their guns lost or stolen.

And Brown vetoed a bid to bar more people from possessing guns. That measure, introduced out of concern that people who abuse drugs and alcohol may use guns more irresponsibly, would have forbidden some DUI offenders to have guns for a period of 10 years.