California Gov. Jerry Brown blamed the neighboring states of Nevada and Arizona for creating a “gigantic back door” for terrorists with their lax gun laws, the Sacramento Bee reported Saturday.
Speaking from Le Bourget, France, where he was en route to the UN climate talks, Brown told reporters that loose gun control regulations facilitated attacks like the mass shooting in San Bernardino that left 14 dead.
“California has some of the toughest gun control laws of any state,” Brown said. “And Nevada and Arizona are wide open, so that’s a gigantic back door through which any terrorist can walk.”
Authorities said that the guns used in Wednesday’s shooting, which is being investigated by the FBI as a potential act of terrorism, were purchased legally in California but modified to become fully automatic, which is illegal under federal law.
Arizona and Nevada have some of the loosest gun control laws in the country. In the Grand Canyon state, any person 21 years or older who isn’t prohibited from owning a weapon may carry firearms openly or concealed without the need for a license. Nevada requires no permit or license to purchase or possess a handgun.
