California’s gun laws get even tougher, but Brown also blocks some bills

In this Oct. 4, 2017, file photo, a device called a "bump stock" is attached to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range in South Jordan, Utah. In this Oct. 4, 2017, file photo, a device called a "bump stock" is attached to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range in South Jordan, Utah. Photo: Rick Bowmer, Associated Press Photo: Rick Bowmer, Associated Press Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close California’s gun laws get even tougher, but Brown also blocks some bills 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

California’s gun-control laws, already among the strictest in the nation, will get even tougher next year when the state bans rapid-fire “bump stocks” and sales of rifles and shotguns to people under 21.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed bills in recent days that will impose those restrictions. At the same time, however, he vetoed additional measures backed by gun-control groups, including one that would have allowed a gun owner’s employer, co-workers or teachers to seek a court order to confiscate the person’s firearms.

Overall, Brown’s bill signings and vetoes — among the final ones of his last term as governor — were in keeping with his “long history of a nuanced, balanced approach to gun restrictions,” said Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor who has studied firearms issues.

That approach is likely to change when a new governor takes office next year.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Democratic candidate to succeed Brown, likes to point out that “gun control is one of his central issues,” Winkler said. Newsom sponsored Proposition 63, a wide-ranging 2016 initiative that included a ban on high-capacity gun magazines and background checks for purchases of ammunition.

His Republican opponent, John Cox, has called gun control “a waste of time.”

Among the bills Brown signed:

•A ban on “bump stocks,” which convert semiautomatic rifles to rapid-fire machine guns. One was used by the gunman who killed 58 people at a Las Vegas concert last year, the worst mass killing in modern U.S. history. The bill, SB1346, was sponsored by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara.

•SB1100 by Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada-Flintridge (Los Angeles County), barring sales of rifles or shotguns to people under 21, except for law enforcement, members of the military and state-licensed hunters. The same age limit now applies to sales of handguns.

•A measure by Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park (Los Angeles County), AB3129, permanently banning anyone convicted of domestic violence from owning a gun. The ban replaces the state’s current 10-year prohibition on gun ownership.

•AB1968 by Assemblyman Evan Low, D-San Jose, imposing a permanent firearms ban on anyone who is committed to a mental health facility more than once in a year and found to be dangerous to themselves or others.

•A requirement that applicants for a license to carry a concealed handgun take eight hours of training in firearm safety and handling, and pass a test that includes firing a gun at a target. The bill, AB2103, was authored by Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego.

Brown also signed a bill by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, SB1200, that allows judges to order that mentally unstable people whose guns are taken away also be barred from possessing ammunition and gun magazines.

But he said AB2288 by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, allowing co-workers, employers or teachers to request the orders, was excessive and unnecessary. Current law allows only family members and law enforcement agencies to seek confiscation orders.

He also vetoed, for the second time in three years, legislation that would have limited purchases of rifles and shotguns to one per month in California, a limit that already applies to handguns.

The governor also rejected SB221 by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, which would have banned gun shows at the Cow Palace. Similar bills have been vetoed twice before, once by Brown and once by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Brown said Friday that such decisions should be left up to the local board of directors.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@BobEgelkio