Jerry Brown Vetoes 'Assault Weapons' Ban, Signs Lead Ammo Ban

California Governor Vetoes Some, Not All, Gun Control Bills Passed by State Legislature, Meaning Mostly Bad News for Gun Owners

California Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed a statewide ban on lead ammunition (AB711) on Friday but vetoed the expanded “assault weapons” ban (SB374).

In addition to vetoing the expanded “assault weapons” ban, Brown vetoed SB299, SB475, SB567, SB755, AB169, and AB180. However, as good as this news sounds, it is far outweighed by the myriad new gun control laws Brown signed into law.

The lead ammo ban alone poses significant problems for CA gun owners, hunters, and wildlife management. 

Earlier this week, Assemblyman and gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly (R-33rd Dist.) warned that AB711 is really just a ban on hunting disguised as an ammunition ban because it leaves hunters with non-options for options. 

On October 8, Donnelly said:

[AB711] forces people to go to non-lead bullets, but non-lead bullets are considered to be arming piercing, and if they can be fired through a handgun they are illegal to own. It is a breach of federal law to own arming piercing ammo for handguns.

This will effectively end ammunition options for hunters, ending hunting in CA as well.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Brown also signed:

SB363–Expands the crime of “criminal storage” in a way that will make it difficult for gun owners with children to keep a loaded gun in the home.

SB683–“Requires owners of long guns to earn safety certificates like those already required of handgun owners.”

AB48–Bans “conversion kits” that enable gun owners to turn standard capacity magazines into “high capacity magazines.”

AB231–Ends organizational purchase of “assault weapons,” .50 cal. riles, and machine guns. An individual MUST go through the standard background checks and registration for such weapons from now on. 

AB 500–Expands the time the DOJ has to do a background check on gun purchasers and expands places in which it is illegal to store a firearm.

AB1131–Extends “from six months to five years the prohibition from owning firearms for those who’ve described a credible violent threat to a psychotherapist.”

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.