[JURIST] California Governor Jerry Brown [official website] signed into law and vetoed several gun control bills [press release] on Friday. Of the 17 bills awaiting gubernatorial approval, 11 were signed into law [Reuters report], including measures requiring buyers of long guns to obtain firearm safety certificates, phasing out the use of lead in ammunition, and banning individuals from gun ownership for five years if they “communicate a threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim” to a licensed psychotherapist and requiring psychotherapists to report such threats within 24 hours. Among the bills vetoed [Sacramento Bee report] were a ban on the sale of semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines capable of rapid shooting, and a law which would have allowed the city of Oakland to enact its own gun control regulations.

Brown’s veto decisions are the latest development in the national gun control debate. In September the Missouri Senate fell one vote short of overriding a veto [JURIST report] by Governor Jay Nixon and passing into law a bill implementing a controversial gun measure. Earlier in September the Mississippi Supreme Court unanimously upheld [JURIST report] an “open carry” law stipulating that gun owners do not need a special permit to carry a gun in a holster or carrying case, so long as it is at least partially visible [JURIST op-ed]. Advocates of Mississippi’s open carry law state that the legislation and holding clarify [JURIST op-ed] formerly ambiguous, vague language as to what actually constituted a concealed weapon. In August Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a gun safety bill into law [JURIST report] requiring background checks for all gun purchases in the state as well as the reporting of all lost and stolen guns.