Gov. Jerry Brown rejected Friday a bill to bar peace officers from selling to the public potentially unsafe handguns that are not available at stores.
Democratic Assemblyman Roger Dickinson's bill was designed to further restrict the distribution of firearms that are not certified for sale by the state Department of Justice, such as weapons that do not have a chamber load indicator or that fail a firing or drop-safety test.
Under current law, such weapons can be bought in California by military or law enforcement personnel, including those in local police agencies, the U.S. Marshal's Office, California Highway Patrol and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
After obtaining the unsafe weapons, officers can use a loophole in current law to sell the firearms through California gun dealers to individuals who could not buy them off store shelves, according to Dickinson, of Sacramento.
Because private citizens who buy such weapons from other states can sell them in California through private party transfers, Brown opposed AB 2460's singling out of peace officers and military personnel.
"This bill takes from law enforcement officers the right to an activity that remains legally available to every private citizen," Brown's veto message said. "I don't believe this is justified."
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