Oklahoma's Republican Governor Mary Fallin vetoed a bill on Friday that would have allowed adults to carry handguns without a permit.
Fallin also signed another bill that permits religious organizations to exclude same sex couples from adoptions, managing to anger both gun and gay rights groups on the same day.
The twin actions announced late Friday were among more than a dozen decisions on legislation taken by the term-limited governor as she clears the decks in her waning months in office.
They also followed a tumultuous session of the Legislature that saw striking teachers march on the Capitol, prompting lawmakers to raise taxes including on the state's powerful oil and gas industry, to fund increases in education spending.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (seen in file photo) vetoed a bill late Friday that would have authorized adults to carry firearms in public without a permit or training
Her veto of the gun bill dealt a rare blow to the National Rifle Association in a conservative state. But the proposal to authorize adults to carry firearms without a permit or training was opposed by law enforcement officials, who said it would weaken background checks and hurt public safety.
In a statement announcing her veto, Fallin stressed her support for the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms and noted she had signed concealed and open carry measures in the past.
'I believe the firearms laws we currently have in place are effective, appropriate and minimal,' she said.
The bill is similar to so-called 'constitutional carry' legislation adopted in a dozen other states.
The NRA blasted Fallin for what it said was ignoring her promise when she ran for re-election in 2014 to support a constitutional carry gun law.
