SACRAMENTO (CBSLA.com) — Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a controversial gun control bill Friday that would have outlawed all future sales of semi-automatic rifles in California.
KNX 1070′s Charles Feldman reports the bill – which was part of a firearms package approved by state lawmakers in response to mass shootings in other states – would have imposed the nation’s toughest restrictions on gun ownership.
In his veto message, Brown said Senate Bill 374 by Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg was too far-reaching and an “infringement on gun owners’ rights.”
Brown did, however, sign into law other related gun control bills, including one bill that prohibits using lead ammunition for hunting, and another measure that bans conversion kits commonly used to convert standard magazines into high-capacity magazines.
SB374 marked the latest effort by lawmakers in Sacramento to close loopholes that have let manufacturers work around previous assault weapon bans.
Civil rights attorney Chuck Michel offered tempered praise for the governor’s veto.
“Thankfully, he vetoed the worst of the worst, but there are a number of other bills that he signed that are particularly problematic.”
Gun-rights groups had threatened to sue if the semi-automatic weapons ban became law.
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