0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
LOS ANGELES — Democrats in the California Legislature passed a sweeping package of gun control bills after a string of mass shootings across the country, cracking down on assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and lead ammunition. But on Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown, also a Democrat, vetoed several key pieces, including a ban on semiautomatic weapons that many had considered the toughest restriction on gun ownership in the country.The bill, by Darrell Steinberg, the State Senate president pro tem, would have banned semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines. Mr. Brown, calling the bill overly broad, said the ban would have unduly constrained hunters and others using guns legally.“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,” Mr. Brown wrote in a veto statement. “I don’t believe this bill’s blanket ban on semiautomatic rifles would reduce criminal activity or enhance public safety enough to warrant this infringement on gun owners’ rights.”Mr. Brown signed several other pieces of gun legislation on Friday, including curbs on high-capacity magazines, a ban on lead hunting ammunition, new limits on firearms storage and several measures intended to keep mentally ill people from possessing firearms.Still, his action has substantially muted the effect of the gun control legislation passed this year in California.
Author
Topic: In California, New Package of Gun Laws but One Snag (Read 778 times)
