PHOENIX — Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Monday vetoed two controversial bills passed by both the Arizona Senate and House — the guns on campus bill and the “birther” bill.
The guns on campus bill would have allowed guns to be carried on public rights of way at public university and community college campuses, but not inside classrooms, myFOXphoenix.com reported.
The bill had been opposed by university presidents.
In a statement explaining her decision, obtained by FOX News Channel, the governor wrote that she had vetoed the bill because it was “so poorly written” and that bills involving guns must be “crystal clear so that gun owners don’t become lawbreakers by accident.”
“While I support thoughtful expansion of where firearms should be allowed, the actual legislation that does so must be unambiguous and clear to protect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. Senate Bill 1467 is neither.”
The other bill given the thumbs-down by Brewer would have required presidential candidates to prove they are US citizens before their names can appear on the state’s ballot.
“As a former Secretary of State, I do not support designating one person as the gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate, which could lead to arbitrary or politically-motivated decisions,” Brewer said in a statement.
She said that she “never imagined” that she would be presented “with a bill that could require candidates for president of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their ‘early baptismal or circumcision certificates’ among other records.”
That, she said, “is a bridge to far.” She concluded that “this measure creates significant new problems while failing to do anything constructive for Arizona.”
Arizona would have become the first state to require such proof after 13 other states considered similar proposals this year.
The proposals were defeated in Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine and Montana.