Gov. Chris Christie for a second time Monday vetoed a bill designed to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.
New Jersey’s Republican governor said the legislation — backed by Democrats in the Legislature — was identical to a bill he’d vetoed last year.
The bill “contains redundant restrictions on firearms ownership while ignoring the larger problem of domestic violence, which in most cases does not involve a firearm,” the governor said, according to NJ.com.
He also said he wants to rewrite a different bill that would expedite permits for domestic violence victims who want their own weapons.
The bill Christie vetoed would have forced gun owners to surrender their weapons if they’re named in a domestic violence restraining order.
Accused abusers would also have to turn over handgun permits and their firearms’ licenses.
The veto wasn’t a surprise to Democratic lawmakers, who fell five votes short of overriding Christie when he first blocked the bill in the Assembly in December.
Christie, a former New Jersey U.S. attorney, campaigned on the promise he would support the state’s ban on assault weapons. He also opposed efforts to allow concealed-carry laws in 2009.
But he reversed that position after launching his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Christie eventually dropped out of the race and endorsed Donald Trump, a supporter of concealed weapons permits.
