New Jersey lawmakers dealt a blow to Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday, overriding a veto for the first time since he became chief executive in 2010 — after more than 50 prior attempts.
The Senate voted 27-12, with three Republicans joining all the Democrats, on a bill that requires prospective gun-buyers to notify law enforcement if they seek to expunge mental health records. The measure passed unanimously in both houses of the Legislature earlier this year.
The Assembly must still vote on the override for it to take effect.
The suspenseful vote came after a debate that at times got personal and as Christie has been out of New Jersey on the Republican presidential campaign trail where he has highlighted Democrats' failure to overcome Republicans in the Legislature.
"I'm not stupid. I can read," said Republican state Sen. Jennifer Beck, who voted against the override after previously supporting it and co-sponsoring the vetoed legislation. Beck came under some criticism during the debate after saying she changed her mind when she learned shootings across the country would not have been stopped by the legislation in question.
Republicans disagreed over whether the vote was a rebuke of the governor or simply a policy disagreement.
Republican state Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman, who co-sponsored the bill and voted for the override, said he has been bothered by Christie touting his control over Republicans.
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"At times his comments about that bothered me because I have gone against him several times now," he said. "I think he's disappointed. I think he likes to talk about that. But we're not always right 100 percent of the time and I don't think he was right on this one."
Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. said politics had nothing to do with the vote and that lawmakers have an opportunity to tackle mental health issues more broadly.
"We cannot have a conversation that is about anything other than policy," Kean said.
Christie said when he vetoed the bill in August that it would complicate already-confusing gun laws and that he preferred more comprehensive mental-health reform. He instead threw his support behind a bill from Kean that calls for notifying law enforcement when anyone seeks to expunge a mental health record, not just gun-buyers.
Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney called that bill a "smokescreen."
"It wasn't political. It was a very simple bill," Sweeney said after the vote. "I just think you had to look yourself in the mirror."
Democrats acted on a "half measure," Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said.
"Gov. Christie is committed to a comprehensive approach, and he will continue to work with legislators of both parties to pass real mental health reforms," Roberts said.
Democratic Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto said in a statement that he will talk to the bill's sponsors before scheduling a vote on the override.
Anyone with a record of involuntary confinement for mental health treatment is prevented from buying a gun in New Jersey, but people can petition to have those records erased.
Lawmakers say the change was requested by court and law enforcement officials to provide judges deciding whether to expunge a record with the latest information on a particular applicant, including any pending charges.
Democrats say the governor's position has more to do with the early balloting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, where gun control is less popular than in New Jersey.
Christie countered recently that it was Sweeney and the Democrats who were playing politics.
"The issue of mental health and its impact on violent, sometimes deadly behavior in our society is too important an issue to play politics with," he said.
Democrats had failed to override Christie's veto more than 50 times because Republicans would not defy him.
They came close during a test vote on the mental health legislation and hoped they could persuade the Republicans who previously supported it.
