This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

California has adopted expanded background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines as part of a sweeping package of gun control laws that advocates hope will pave the way for stronger firearm restrictions across the country.

Governor Jerry Brown signed into law six measures on Friday that include a wide range of new limits on the purchase and possession of rifles in the Golden State at a time when federal lawmakers have remained in a deadlock over any potential gun reforms.

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The successful passage of the bills, signed two weeks after the deadliest US shooting in modern history in Orlando, Florida, offers a sharp contrast to the theatrical and unproductive fights in Washington DC over proposed gun control measures that some progressive activists don’t even support.

“California has taken a giant step forward in sensible gun safety regulations,” said state senator Loni Hancock, who sponsored one of the new bills, which bans the possession of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. “Taken together, they really will make our neighborhoods safer.”

Brown, a Democrat, also vetoed five gun control proposals on Friday, which pundits expected given his mixed record on firearms. Recently, however, the governor has been outspoken in criticizing neighboring states’ loose laws that he said create a “gigantic back door through which any terrorist can walk”.

In addition to the magazine ban, Brown signed into law legislation that outlaws assault rifles with a so-called “bullet button” that allows shooters to quickly eject and reload ammunition magazines.

Another approved measure mandates background checks when a gun is loaned to someone other than a close family member.

Brown further signed a bill that enhances penalties for filing false reports of stolen guns. That measure is aimed at reducing the flow of guns into the black market through “straw purchasers” who legally buy guns and then give or sell them to those prohibited from making purchases.

Additionally, a new set of ammunition regulations establishes background checks for purchasers, required licenses to sell ammunition and a system for collecting sale information.

Brown said in a statement that the new laws would “enhance public safety by tightening our existing laws in a responsible and focused manner, while protecting the rights of law-abiding owners”.

The governor, however, vetoed a proposal to require the reporting of lost or stolen firearms, writing that he did not believe the measure would help identify gun traffickers or enable law enforcement to disarm people prohibited from having guns.

“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 vetoed another bill that he said duplicated a gun control measure that will be on the ballot in November as part of a package sponsored by Democratic lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom. Brown also vetoed bills that would expand who can seek restraining orders related to gun violence; restrict all firearm purchases to one per month; and require registration of homemade firearms.

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Democrats in California, which already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, have been pushing for new laws since a December mass shooting in San Bernardino left 14 people dead.

Pro-gun advocates in California said the bills were “turning tragedy into political gain” and transforming “law-abiding gun owners into criminals”. The California Rifle and Pistol Association said the legislature was “stripping citizens of their right to protect themselves” with its “draconian anti-firearm bills”.

Hancock said her bill – which also requires that people who own high-capacity magazines turn them in – builds on local bans in cities like San Francisco and Oakland, which have been upheld by the courts.

“We know that high-capacity magazines have been used in virtually every mass shooting in the United States in the last 20 years,” she said. “We know they were designed by the military to kill as many people as possible in as short of a time as possible.”

Hancock, a Democrat, said she expects legislators outside of California may model their reform efforts on the new bills.

“It shows what can be done and what should be done, and I hope other states will look at this.”