SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown signed six stringent gun-control measures Friday that will require people to turn in high-capacity magazines and require background checks for ammunition sales, as California Democrats seek to strengthen gun laws that are already among the strictest in the nation.
Brown vetoed five other bills, including a requirement to register homemade firearms and report lost or stolen weapons to authorities.
The Democratic governor’s action is consistent with his mixed record on gun control. Some of the bills enacted duplicate provisions of a ballot measure by Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom that will appear on the November ballot.
One bill he vetoed would have asked voters to strengthen penalties for stealing a gun, because he said voters will already be deciding it through Newsom’s initiative. Newsom’s ballot measure also will ask voters to require reporting of lost and stolen firearms — an idea Brown rejected Friday and has rejected least twice before.
“I continue to believe that responsible people report the loss or theft of a firearm and irresponsible people do not; it is not likely that this bill would change that,” he wrote in a veto message.
Gun control measures have long been popular with the Democratic lawmakers who control the California Senate and Assembly. But they stepped up their push this year following the December shooting in San Bernardino by a couple who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
The bills angered Republicans and gun-rights advocates who say Democrats are trampling on 2nd Amendment rights, creating new restrictions that won’t cut off the flow of guns to people intent on using them for nefarious purposes.
The measures Brown signed will:
— Outlaw assault rifles with a feature known as a bullet button, which allows shooters to use a small tool to quickly change magazines
— Mandate background checks when a gun is loaned to someone other than a close relative of the owner
— Boost penalties for filing false reports of stolen guns, a measure targeting straw purchasers who buy weapons on behalf of people prohibited from doing so
— Create regulations for ammunition, including requirements that ammo sellers get a license and that purchases be screened
— Ban possession of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds, requiring people who already own them to turn them in to authorities
He vetoed bills that would:
— Ask voters to stiffen penalties for stealing guns, which were inadvertently reduced when voters approved Proposition 47 that raised the threshold for a theft to be considered a felony
— Require registration of homemade firearms, which critics call “ghost guns” because they’re not required to have serial numbers
— Expanded the types of people who can seek gun-violence restraining orders under a six-month-old program that allows courts to temporary revoke gun ownership rights of people suspected to be dangerous to themselves of others
— Require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to authorities within five days
— Restrict all firearm purchases to one per month, a limitation that currently applies only to handguns
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thanks Gov. Jerry … and California ! —
Okay at least one of these was written by someone who’s only ever had an “assualt weapon” described to them by someone else who also had only ever had one described to them over the phone.
The hell is a “bullet button”? Do they mean “magazine release”? That is literally just a button and does not require a second “tool” to facilitate magazine changes, it’s literally “press button, magazine drops, put new magazine in” no tools involved… This measure targets exactly 0 guns that actually exist… Or… Every weapon that has a magazine, I can’t really tell, because as a former weapons petty officer I have never heard of this “bullet button/ tool” magazine change system. It’s actually sounds slow and cumbersome, and like a gun control measure that could be used to still allow the sale of so called “assualt rifles” but to make them harder to use.
Having very little working knowledge of firearms, I don’t know, but that sort of caught my eye as well. How familiar are you with guns? There is another commenter on these threads who’s pretty well-versed on the subject(s) of guns, the types, how they’re made, etc. Her name is @arrendis. If you’re out there and see this, your thoughts, arrendis? Thanks.
Like I said I used to operate the armory on board two Coast Guard Cutters. I was responsible for .50 caliber heavy machine guns (M2s), M-16 A2s, shotguns and several .40 caliber handguns, and M14s… I also enjoy shooting sports and own several types of guns (but not an. AR-15… Though I want one, loved shooting them in the CG) and have never heard of this “bullet button” nonsense… I don’t even know how it would work.
Also… All limiting magazine sizes does is force mass murders to carry more magazines… 6x 5 round mags= 3x 10 round mags= 2x 15 round mags= 1x 30 round mag… Average reload time for an AR-15… 2.5 seconds
Ah, I missed the part about the armory … sorry about that. You know, I’ve considered going to a shooting range. I don’t own a gun and it’s been many years since I’ve even fired one, but it is an awesome feeling of raw power. I remember many years ago when our family lived out in the country, we’d shot cans and bottles. I could never bring myself to shoot a living creature – I was such a wussy (according to my brothers, anyway). I still wouldn’t do that, but I could shoot at skeet and the paper bad guys. LOL.
Well, with all your experience and you not understanding what this one bill really targets, I’m even more curious: wtf?